TEXAS— American Airlines (AA), the largest carrier at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), is reshaping its senior leadership as CEO Robert Isom looks to improve profitability and strengthen the airline’s overall performance.
The leadership overhaul comes after American reported only $71 million in net income for the second quarter of 2026.
That result stood well below United Airlines’ $805 million and Delta Air Lines’ $1.6 billion, putting renewed attention on American’s strategy, customer experience and operational performance.
American Changes Leadership Amid Profit Pressure
Chief communications officer Ron DeFeo is stepping down, while Nate Gatten, executive vice president of American Eagle, corporate real estate and government affairs, is leaving for another opportunity.
Senior vice president of technical operations Kevin Brickner is also retiring after three decades with the airline.
The departures follow the planned retirement of Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer Steve Johnson, who is set to leave at the end of 2026. Together, the changes mark a broad reset across several areas of American’s management structure.
Caroline Clayton, senior vice president of communications and chief marketing officer, will take responsibility for communications. Chief customer officer Heather Garboden will add reservations, contact centers, service recovery and catering to her responsibilities.
New Roles Expanded Across Senior Leadership
Steve Neuman will report directly to Isom and oversee government affairs, sustainability and the Office of Continued Care and Outreach. Chief financial officer Devon May will also take responsibility for corporate real estate.
John Bendoraitis, a former Spirit Airlines executive, will join American to lead technical operations.
JC Gulbranson, a flight operations executive, will expand his responsibilities to include airports, planning, flight, in-flight operations and the integrated operations center.
The airline is also expanding the people team under Cole Brown to include recognition and engagement. Meanwhile, Chief Commercial Officer Nat Pieper will take on marketing, brand, advertising and partnerships while American searches for a new marketing leader.
Profit Gap Drives Reset Across Airline Leadership
The financial pressure behind the changes is significant.
American generated record second-quarter revenue of $16.7 billion, but its $71 million net profit was sharply lower than the $599 million recorded during the same period a year earlier, showing how higher costs can limit the benefit of strong revenue growth.
Isom acknowledged that American still has a substantial performance gap to close. He said the airline needs to improve customer experience, operational reliability, employee engagement and business results while continuing its broader commercial strategy.
American plans to rely on investments in its U.S. hubs, premium products and its Miami international gateway to Latin America as it works to improve its competitive position. The leadership changes are designed to give those priorities clearer ownership across the company.
The restructuring also adds four executives — Garboden, Gulbranson, Clayton and Neuman — to American’s leadership team, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Isom said the expanded group will bring broader perspectives into key decisions as the carrier works to strengthen execution and close the gap with its largest U.S. rivals.
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