Southwest Chairman Gary Kelly To Retire As Struggling Airline Shakes Up Board

The moves come after a meeting with large shareholder Elliott Investment Management

Southwest Airlines announced a shakeup of its board of directors on Tuesday that includes the retirement of Executive Chairman Gary Kelly.

Kelly will step down immediately after the company's 2025 annual meeting.

Six directors will retire in November and the board says it intends to appoint four new independent directors. They could include candidates proposed by Elliott Investment Management.

The six were identified as David Biegler (Compensation Committee Chairman), Veronica Biggins (Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Chair), Senator Roy Blunt, Dr. William Cunningham (Lead Director), Dr. Thomas Gilligan (Audit Committee Chairman) and Jill Soltau.

Elliott Investment has a substantial stake in the airline and has called for changes.

As part of the restructuring, the board said it would eliminate the executive committee structure and create a new finance committee.

In a release announcing the changes the airline said it was reiterating support for Bob Jordan as CEO.

"Southwest Airlines' Board is confident that there is no better leader than Bob Jordan to successfully execute Southwest Airlines' robust strategy to evolve the airline and enhance sustainable Shareholder value," the board statement read.

"Jordan is a 36-year industry veteran who has led the Company through some of its most turbulent times, while consistently driving transformational initiatives and innovation."

Elliott Management had called for Jordan's removal. It is unclear if it was satisfied with the announced changes.

Southwest had a 47-year profit streak that was broken during the pandemic. and has struggled to recover in the past several years. Kelly blamed soaring industry costs and capacity limits.

"Our performance has fallen short of our expectations," he said in a letter to shareholders.

The airline has recently announced a series of changes in an attempt to boost profits. Among them are assigned seating, offering more premium options and offering red-eye flights.