American Airlines Announces Retirement of Henry C. Joyner, Senior Vice President - Planning, After Nearly 30 Years of Service, C
April 27 2009 - 4:56PM
PR Newswire (US)
Virasb Vahidi Returns to American on June 1 to Succeed Joyner FORT
WORTH, Texas, April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Airlines
today announced the retirement of longtime senior executive Henry
C. Joyner after nearly 30 years of contributions, leadership and
service to the company. Effective June 1, Joyner will retire from
his position as American Airlines Senior Vice President - Planning.
American also announced that Virasb Vahidi will return to the
company to succeed Joyner. Vahidi's appointment is also effective
June 1. "It is rare to find someone with Henry's personal and
professional attributes, and even rarer for a company to reap those
benefits for nearly three decades," said Gerard Arpey, Chairman and
CEO of AMR Corp., parent company of American. "Henry's immense
contributions to our shareholders, customers and employees have
better positioned our company to face its current challenges and
achieve long-term success. We thank him for his service and wish
him all the best during his well-deserved retirement from the
company." Arpey added, "At the same time, we are fortunate to have
someone of Virasb's talent, knowledge and experience who is
rejoining American's senior leadership team and is uniquely
qualified to make significant contributions. In the first phase of
his career at American, Virasb was one of our company's rising
stars, having worked closely with many of the leaders that make up
our management team today. He is a talented executive, with
international experience in diverse leadership roles across
multiple industries. More than that, he has a passion for and a
proven track record in the global aviation business." Joyner joined
American as a financial analyst in 1980, after earning an MBA from
the University of Chicago. He joined the Marketing Department in
1982 and was involved in the development of the AAdvantage(R)
marketing and frequent flyer program, the industry's first. He
became Managing Director of Airline Planning in 1987 and was named
Vice President of Personnel Resources in 1989. Joyner became Vice
President of Marketing Planning in 1990 and was named Senior Vice
President - Planning in 2000. In his current role, Joyner directs
the company's strategic planning activities including scheduling,
revenue management, corporate real estate, fleet planning, airline
alliances, and international regulatory affairs. "It has been a
privilege to be a part of the American team as it has navigated the
challenges of the airline business over the last 30 years," Joyner
said. "Contributing to the network and fleet planning that has
positioned American to be a successful global airline has been
professionally rewarding. But, it has been the opportunity to work
alongside some of the most talented and committed people in the
industry that has made American a very special place for me and my
family. I have been and always will be proud to say I worked for
American Airlines." Vahidi, who will assume all of the airline's
planning responsibilities, in addition to Airline Profitability
& Financial Analysis, joined American in 1994 in Airline
Planning and served in a number of roles of increasing
responsibilities in Revenue Management. He was named Managing
Director of International Planning in 1998 and later served as
Managing Director of Airline Profitability & Financial Analysis
from 2000 to 2002. During his more than eight years at American,
Vahidi led the team that was responsible for the profitability of
American's global network, negotiated alliances with international
airline partners, led pricing and yield management of American's
Latin America network, and developed and implemented new domestic
pricing products. Vahidi joined AT&T in 2002 as Vice President
of Corporate Planning and Investor Relations and later became
Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development, a
position he held until 2006. At AT&T, his responsibilities
included global mergers and divestitures, strategic business and
technology initiatives, the AT&T venture capital fund,
financial and capital planning, and investor relations. He also
played a key role in the AT&T/SBC Communications merger and was
the co-leader of the integration team. In his most recent position,
Vahidi served as Chief Operating Officer and member of the Board of
Directors of Phorm, a technology company. During his tenure, he led
successful fundraisings, negotiated and executed agreements with
global business partners, led the development of a long-term
business and financial plan, and recruited a strong management
team. Vahidi earned an MBA in 1994 at Paris' Ecole Nationale des
Ponts et Chaussees and a Bachelor of Science degree from the
University of California-San Diego in 1988. About American Airlines
American Airlines, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection(R)
airlines serve 250 cities in 40 countries with, on average, more
than 3,400 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more
than 900 aircraft. American's award-winning Web site, AA.com(R),
provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus
personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines
is a founding member of the oneworld(R) Alliance, which brings
together some of the best and biggest names in the airline
business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and
benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its
members serve nearly 700 destinations in over 140 countries and
territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines,
Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines,
American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, We know why you fly and
AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc.
(NYSE: AMR) Current AMR Corp. releases can be accessed on the
Internet. The address is http://www.aa.com DATASOURCE: American
Airlines CONTACT: Andy Backover, Corporate Communications of
American Airlines, +1-817-967-1577, Web Site: http://www.aa.com/
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