United Airlines names Kate Gebo Executive Vice President Human Resources and Labor Relations

United Airlines today announced Kate Gebo has been named executive vice president Human Resources and Labor Relations, replacing Mike Bonds, who announced his retirement earlier this year.

"I could not be prouder or more confident in the selection of Kate for this important role," said Oscar Munoz, CEO of United. "Her track record clearly demonstrates her proven ability to build and enhance strong partnerships with our union leaders, her understanding of the importance of establishing human connections between employees and the customers they serve and an obvious talent for building and developing successful teams throughout the company. Those qualities and experiences will put her in an excellent position as she sets to work engaging our employees and putting customer service at the center of everything we do."

Gebo will report directly to Munoz. Gebo currently serves as senior vice president and chief customer officer, where she oversees all of United's customer-facing teams from booking to landing. Gebo has more than 20 years of airline experience, working in several functions at United, including leading the real estate function to work with airports worldwide to improve the overall customer experience through new facilities and services.

United will name Gebo's replacement in the coming days.

Gebo has her bachelor's degree in finance from DePaul University and her MBA from Loyola University of Chicago.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,500 flights a day to 337 airports across five continents. In 2016, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 143 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 751 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 489 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to more than 190 countries via 28 member airlines.