BCG partner Julia Haywood new Commercial Officer of United Airlines

Julia Haywood, formerly a Partner and Managing Director at The Boston Consulting Group, has joined United Continental Holdings as Executive Vice President and CCO. The appointment comes on the back of a shakeup within the management team at United, which is seeking to improve its operational efficiency to meet market demands.

United Continental Holdings, the holding company for among others United Airlines, is the merged entity of UAL Corporation, the former owner of United Airlines and Continental Airlines. The deal created the number three US commercial carrier, but, in the six years since the merger, the firm has found it difficult to boost its relative performance. In a bid to find a new way forward, Oscar Munoz took the helm of the company last year. The shakeup has, among others, seen changes within the board room as well as the executive, with the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).

The CCO role at United Airlines has gone to Julia Haywood, who prior to joining worked at The Boston Consulting Group, since 2005. In the intervening years, Haywood climbed the ranks at the strategy and management consulting firm, becoming a Project Leader in 2007, a Principal in 2009 and most recently a Partner and Managing Director of the firm’s Airline Transformation practice. Previously, from 2001 until 2003, she worked for the International Olympic Committee in TOP Sponsorship and Games Operations.

Haywood, who has been working with Munoz as a consultant, brings more than a decade of experience in commercial strategy and execution, network planning and revenue growth across a dozen airlines to the role. Haywood will report directly to the CEO.

She holds an H.B. Com in Commerce, Business Management & Sports Administration from the Laurentian University and a Master of Business Administration from the Melbourne Business School.

In conjunction with Haywood’s appointment, the firm’s executive team have also welcomed Andrew Levy, who takes on the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Offer at BCG.

About the appointments, Munoz remarks, “Julia and Andrew bring a powerful combination of industry perspective and experience to our leadership team. I have spent the last few months working with Julia as she has been partnering with our revenue and network teams, and her expertise in global consumer travel will be a tremendous addition to drive United’s strategic direction.”