Herb and Colleen are losing their titles but the filings say they keep their offices and will remain with the company performing duties at the HQ for some period, I believe it is 5 years afterwards.
The only person who can have the title of President and Ch of the Board at this point is Gary even though it hasn't been announced. How could a new president take over when the old one is sitting down the hallway in her office? Plus giving up her seat on the BOD is a huge sign of changing times also.
Having GK in charge of all 3 is a good thing (if it happens that way), consolidates things and lets everyone know who is in charged vs a power vacuum with HK and CB leaving right away.....of course this all started back in April '01 when HK announced his retirement....it has been a well thought out planned with changes that have occurred with Jim Parker's interim appointment, 9/11, FA strike, JP's departure and then GK appointment.
Now that GK is firmly entrenched and has some of the initial moves made for putting who he wants in place around him over the last few years, he'll start working on the other departments in a year or so when CB departs....they run very well generally....what GK will bring to the table is the veto power to have common sense rule over decisions that in the past may not have been able to muster full support from CB's staff or herself but now that obstacle will be gone. Whethe that will make us less or more PC who knows....but the logic test will be applied from GK's basis and there will be full consensus now to go with that....he'll still seek inputs but he'll be able to accept responsibility for those decisions when in the past he has had to maybe live with decisions that may not have been to his full liking (something we all have to do in life, just ask my wife and kids.)
HK and CB came in together, they will slowly go out together....we owe a lot to them and without them both SWA would not be where we are today....most pilots praise HK, less toward CB but she still garners respect from most....the question is who becomes GK right hand person on customer relations and the culture, who is the heir apparent to that role within SWA....with Colleen remaining at the HQ for sometime that transition will be slower than desired for some, howerver I suspect someone will be appointed that is closely aligned to GK and while may have been under Colleen previously but will realize who is in charge now (GK) and will follow GK's lead and be a trusted agent for the vision he has for SWA....the sign of good leaders is to have a good exit strategy that leaves better leaders in place to run the operations.....Herb has masterfully groomed the right folks and has been laying out the plan for all to see....not many corporations and most certainly airlines haven't had this smooth of a transition when one looks at the recent history I think.....we went through a hiccup with Jim Parker but that is not uncommon when the immediate replacement is made (always have a strong bullpen to pull from...we had it with GK) and some have argued intentionally planned....who knows but we certainly have a capable one now.
There are good relations between employee groups and management, maybe ramp is the one exception due to big changes on the line....however, with pilot negotiations happening in earnest it is not to be overlooked because for the first time since Herb turned 60 (16 years ago), the most powerful person at the airline will be of the same generation as the head of the pilot group and will also be less senior in years at SWA and experience than the leader of our union.
Negotiating with someone you view in the same light as a grandfather or father figure, e.g. HK, versus someone from one's own demographic group, GK is a big difference. Those are unique demographics that have never occurred at SWA before except in the very early days of the airline....these are interesting times.
The only person who can have the title of President and Ch of the Board at this point is Gary even though it hasn't been announced. How could a new president take over when the old one is sitting down the hallway in her office? Plus giving up her seat on the BOD is a huge sign of changing times also.
Having GK in charge of all 3 is a good thing (if it happens that way), consolidates things and lets everyone know who is in charged vs a power vacuum with HK and CB leaving right away.....of course this all started back in April '01 when HK announced his retirement....it has been a well thought out planned with changes that have occurred with Jim Parker's interim appointment, 9/11, FA strike, JP's departure and then GK appointment.
Now that GK is firmly entrenched and has some of the initial moves made for putting who he wants in place around him over the last few years, he'll start working on the other departments in a year or so when CB departs....they run very well generally....what GK will bring to the table is the veto power to have common sense rule over decisions that in the past may not have been able to muster full support from CB's staff or herself but now that obstacle will be gone. Whethe that will make us less or more PC who knows....but the logic test will be applied from GK's basis and there will be full consensus now to go with that....he'll still seek inputs but he'll be able to accept responsibility for those decisions when in the past he has had to maybe live with decisions that may not have been to his full liking (something we all have to do in life, just ask my wife and kids.)
HK and CB came in together, they will slowly go out together....we owe a lot to them and without them both SWA would not be where we are today....most pilots praise HK, less toward CB but she still garners respect from most....the question is who becomes GK right hand person on customer relations and the culture, who is the heir apparent to that role within SWA....with Colleen remaining at the HQ for sometime that transition will be slower than desired for some, howerver I suspect someone will be appointed that is closely aligned to GK and while may have been under Colleen previously but will realize who is in charge now (GK) and will follow GK's lead and be a trusted agent for the vision he has for SWA....the sign of good leaders is to have a good exit strategy that leaves better leaders in place to run the operations.....Herb has masterfully groomed the right folks and has been laying out the plan for all to see....not many corporations and most certainly airlines haven't had this smooth of a transition when one looks at the recent history I think.....we went through a hiccup with Jim Parker but that is not uncommon when the immediate replacement is made (always have a strong bullpen to pull from...we had it with GK) and some have argued intentionally planned....who knows but we certainly have a capable one now.
There are good relations between employee groups and management, maybe ramp is the one exception due to big changes on the line....however, with pilot negotiations happening in earnest it is not to be overlooked because for the first time since Herb turned 60 (16 years ago), the most powerful person at the airline will be of the same generation as the head of the pilot group and will also be less senior in years at SWA and experience than the leader of our union.
Negotiating with someone you view in the same light as a grandfather or father figure, e.g. HK, versus someone from one's own demographic group, GK is a big difference. Those are unique demographics that have never occurred at SWA before except in the very early days of the airline....these are interesting times.
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