Southwest Airlines Co. has
a new vice president of strategy and change leadership, but it's unlikely the appointment signals M&A ahead. Instead, Kathleen Wayton, who was a director in the company's strategic planning department, will drive and implement the airline's -- mostly organic -- growth plan, and
develop processes to govern and manage strategy and project execution. Despite indicating in January that it would be
open to M&A if the right opportunity arose, the discount king has continued to fly solo in the consolidating airline industry. As The Deal's Lou Whiteman has said, Southwest is more likely to seek out gates and other assets divested as part of consolidation elsewhere in the industry. The company has followed that path in recent years, in 2004 outmaneuvering AirTran Airways Inc. to purchase gates at Chicago's space-constrained Midway Airport from ATA Airlines Inc. -
Suzanne Stevens
Simon Leung
