Brett HartUnited Airlines Elevates Former General Counsel to President
As general counsel, Brett Hart's move into the interim CEO role in 2015 after the United CEO had a heart attack made news at a time when head lawyers rarely took the top executive position.
May 12, 2020 at 03:55 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Corporate Counsel
After proving his leadership skills as general counsel when he stepped into the interim CEO role, United Airlines Inc. chief administrative officer Brett Hart has been tapped to be president.
Hart will officially assume his new role May 20 at United's annual shareholder meeting. According to United's press release, the succession plan includes CEO Oscar Munoz becoming executive chair and current president Scott Kirby becoming CEO.
As president of Chicago-based United, Hart will continue to lead the company's government affairs, corporate real estate and legal teams. Under his leadership, he'll also keep managing environmental sustainability, corporate communications and community engagement efforts. The overseeing of human resources and labor relations teams fall into his new role.
Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic pounding the travel industry, Hart, along with Munoz and Kirby, will forgo their salaries, a move many top in-house lawyers and other executives are undertaking in order to help their companies survive the current economic downturn.
"I am honored and energized as I take on these new responsibilities to lead this incredible team that I am convinced will build United into a thriving industry leader," Hart said in the release. "The path forward will not be easy, but I am confident that Scott and I will continue our partnership to lead United through the extraordinary challenge posed by COVID-19. United's bright future is only possible because of the commitment of the most talented airline professionals in the world who serve United and our customers every single day—and I could not be prouder of them."
United said it has no plans to replace the chief administrative officer role.
Hart, who became general counsel at United in 2010, replaced Munoz in 2015 for six months as CEO after Munoz had a heart attack and took subsequent medical leave for a heart transplant. At the time, Munoz had been CEO for one month.
Prior to United, Hart was executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at packaged desserts producer Sara Lee Corp. Before his in-house career, Hart was a partner at the now-defunct Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Chicago. He's also served as special assistant to the general counsel at the U.S. Department of Treasury in Washington, D.C.
Hart serves on the board of directors for biopharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School.
Read More:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Uber Not Responsible for Turning Over Information on 'Dangerous Riders' to Competitor, Judge Finds
5 minute read
Judge Relies on Recent 8th Circuit Clarification in Quest for Punitive Damages Against Logistics Company
5 minute read
'A Fierce Battle of Expert Witnesses' Expected in Cybersecurity Spat
Big Law Assembles as Cruise Lines Clinch Partial Victory in $439M Havana Docks Suit
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Attorney Responds to Outten & Golden Managing Partner's Letter on Dropped Client
- 2Attracted to Thompson Hine's Fee Flexibility, Morgan Lewis Litigator Switches Firms in Chicago
- 3Phila. Attorney Hit With 5-Year Suspension for Mismanaging Firm and Mishandling Cases
- 4Simpson Thacher Replenishes London Ranks With Latest Linklaters Defection
- 5Holland & Knight, Akin, Crowell, Barnes and Day Pitney Add to DC Practices
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
