Thomas W. Horton Explained

Thomas W. Horton
Birth Date:24 May 1961
Birth Place:Hampton, Virginia, U.S.
Alma Mater:Baylor University
Southern Methodist University
Occupation:Lead Director at Walmart Inc. and General Electric
Former Chairman, President and CEO of American Airlines Group, Inc.
Children:2

Thomas W. Horton (born May 24, 1961)[1] is a partner of Global Infrastructure Partners and is lead director at Walmart Inc. and General Electric Corp.[2]

He was chairman, president, and CEO of AMR Corporation until it merged with US Airways Group to form American Airlines Group, Inc., then became chairman of American Airlines Group, Inc. and American Airlines.[3]

Horton is credited with reinventing American Airlines and improving the company's overall performance, and leading the company through one of the most successful restructurings of that scale, culminating in a merger with US Airways.[4] [5]

Early life and education

Horton was born in Hampton, Virginia[6] and spent much of his life in Texas.[7] He earned a BBA degree, magna cum laude, from Baylor University and an MBA degree from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in 1985.[8] [9]

Career

Horton began his career at AMR in 1985 in finance.[6] From 1998 to 2000, he led the airline's International business based in London. Horton was appointed chief financial officer in January 2000.[10]

He joined AT&T in 2002 as chief financial officer and was later appointed vice-chairman.[6] He is credited with helping to create the new AT&T, having led the evaluation of strategic alternatives in 2005, ultimately leading to the combination with SBC which formed the new AT&T.<ref name="corpbio"/>

Horton returned to AMR in March 2006 and served as executive vice president of finance and planning and chief financial officer of AMR and American.[9] [11] [12] In 2008, he was named US top CFO by Institutional Investor magazine. On July 21, 2010, he was named president of the airline.[9] [11]

On November 28, 2011, Horton was named CEO and chairman of American Airlines.[13] [14] He led a team to restructure the company, while lowering costs, including in debt, leases, and its aircraft fleet, while negotiating labor contracts, among AMR’s chief goals,[15] to restore company profitability and competitiveness.[14]

Simultaneously, Horton led a renewal of American's fleet and products with a landmark aircraft deal in which Boeing and Airbus would provide new airplanes to replace the older ones.[16] The deal was the largest aircraft order in history, with 460 new single-aisle jets from the two manufacturers and $13 billion in financing. Horton's team led the airline through a rebranding including a new aircraft livery featuring a new logo and flag on the aircraft tail.[17] [18]

During restructuring Horton secured a deal for the anticipated buyout from US Airways in which AMR creditors and unions owned 72% of the new company, and US Airways shareholders owned 28%.[14] US Airways had originally sought a controlling stake in the combined company. The combined company became American Airlines Group. Through the purchase and merger, Horton achieved full recovery for bondholders and, unusually, during a bankruptcy process, substantial recovery for equity holders.[10] [19] The new American Airlines Group became the world's largest airline. Horton completed his tenure as chairman in June 2014.[10]

On April 15, 2019, Horton became a partner of worldwide infrastructure equity investment firm Global Infrastructure Partners.[20] [21]

Board

Horton served on the board of Qualcomm Inc. from 2008 to 2019 and was its presiding director from 2015 to 2019.[10] [22] On November 21, 2014, he was appointed to the board of Walmart and was later named its lead director. In September 2015, he was appointed lead director of General Electric's board of directors.[23] He joined Warburg Pincus as senior advisor that October.[21] Horton is also a member of the executive board of the SMU Cox School of Business and is a member of the board of the National Air and Space Museum.[5] Horton served as chairman of Oneworld, the global airline alliance, from December 2011 until March 2014.[24]

Personal life

Horton is married with two grown children.[5] He is an avid runner and a jet-rated commercial pilot.[10]

Notes and References

  1. News: A look at AMR Corp. CEO Thomas W. Horton. Boston.com. June 30, 2020.
  2. Web site: Press Release – H. Lawrence Hulp, JR. Named Chairman and CEO of GE . October 1, 2018 . October 1, 2018 . .
  3. Web site: Corporate Structure – AMR At-A-Glance. June 20, 2014. American Airlines. https://web.archive.org/web/20140716074555/http://www.aa.com/i18n/amrcorp/corporateInformation/facts/structure.jsp. July 16, 2014. live.
  4. Web site: American Airlines, US Airways Strike A Deal To Merge Into The World's Biggest Airline . Alex Davies . November 12, 2013 . June 30, 2020 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20190418100542/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/report-american-airlines-us-airways-162924491.html . April 18, 2019 . live .
  5. News: Former American Airlines CEO helps pilot the boards of three U.S. corporate icons. The Dallas Morning News. Hall. Cheryl. February 24, 2019. June 30, 2020.
  6. Web site: AT&T Investor Relations: AT&T Profile7#58; Senior Leadership Team . Nices.com . December 1, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120426011243/http://nices.com/www-att-com/ir/ap/exebios.html#Horton . April 26, 2012 . dead .
  7. Web site: Thomas W. Horton, Exec. VP – Finance, CFO, American Airlines Inc . Walkersresearch.com . December 1, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120424052630/http://www.walkersresearch.com/Profilepages/Show_Executive_Title/Executiveprofile/T/Thomas_W_Horton_100003891.html . April 24, 2012 . live .
  8. Web site: Distinguished Alumni @ SMU Cox . Cox.smu.edu . December 1, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120426011242/http://cox.smu.edu/web/alumni/distinguished-alumni . April 26, 2012 . live .
  9. Web site: Thomas W. Horton – Chairman, CEO and President, AMR Corp. and American Airlines . . March 30, 2009 . November 30, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111201223057/http://www.aa.com/i18n/amrcorp/corporateInformation/bios/horton.jsp . December 1, 2011 . live .
  10. News: How Tom Horton Shaped American Airlines. The Wall Street Journal. Carey. Susan. May 30, 2014. June 30, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20190509223846/https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-tom-horton-shaped-american-airlines-1401483124. May 9, 2019. live.
  11. Web site: Tom Horton moves up ranks to become president at American Airlines, AMR . . Terry Maxon . July 22, 2010 . November 30, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111201164324/http://www.dallasnews.com/business/headlines/20100722-tom-horton-moves-up-ranks-to-become-president-at-american-airlines-amr.ece . December 1, 2011 . live .
  12. News: Thomas W. Horton Profile . . November 30, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111205035555/http://people.forbes.com/profile/thomas-w-horton/5718 . December 5, 2011 . dead .
  13. News: American Airlines Parent AMR Files for Bankruptcy as Horton Is Named CEO. Phil Milford, Mary Schlangenstein & David McLaughlin. November 30, 2011. Bloomberg Businessweek. March 12, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20150124221735/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-29/amr-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-in-new-york-as-talks-with-pilots-end.html. January 24, 2015. live.
  14. News: Inside the world's biggest airline merger . Shawn Tully . February 28, 2013 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130507170941/http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/28/news/companies/american-airlines-us-airways.pr.fortune/index.html . May 7, 2013 .
  15. News: American Airlines Parent Files for Bankruptcy. Deal Book. The New York Times. De La Merced. Michael J. November 29, 2011. June 30, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200212081827/https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/american-airlines-parent-files-for-bankruptcy. February 12, 2020. live.
  16. Web site: Horton says Boeing and Airbus are offering the airplanes as operating leases. Terry Maxon. July 20, 2011. The Dallas Morning News. May 3, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094651/http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2011/07/horton-says-boeing-and-airbus.html/. 4 March 2016. live.
  17. Web site: Memphis Photos. May 3, 2013. The Commercial Appeal.
  18. Web site: Horton hints at American Airlines rebranding 'very soon'. Terry Maxon. January 16, 2013. The Dallas Morning News. May 3, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130118032804/http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2013/01/horton-hints-at-rebranding-very-soon.html/. January 18, 2013. live.
  19. News: The untold story of American Airlines' big payout. Fortune. Tully. Shawn. April 10, 2014. June 30, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528022408/http://fortune.com/2014/04/10/the-untold-story-of-american-airlines-big-payout/. May 28, 2019. live.
  20. Global Infrastructure Partners Announced the Appointment of Tom Horton as a Partner. GlobeNewswire. April 15, 2019. June 30, 2020.
  21. Web site: Tom Horton, Global Infrastructure Partners: Profile and Biography. Bloomberg News. June 30, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20191217115158/https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/3219226. December 17, 2019. live.
  22. News: Qualcomm head proves his mettle fending off Apple. Financial Times. Waters. Richard. April 19, 2019. June 30, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20190919143643/https://www.ft.com/content/663f4196-62b7-11e9-a27a-fdd51850994c. September 19, 2019. live.
  23. Web site: Mr. Tom Horton. Director & Boards. June 30, 2020.
  24. Web site: American Airlines' Tom Horton elected oneworld Chairman. Cathay Pacific News. June 30, 2020.

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