United terse in announcing the exit of its CEO amid a federal probe
The airline said Jeff Smisek and other executives would be leaving, Oscar Munoz was the new top boss, and that it was cooperating with the government, but it offered little else.
United Continental Holdings’ CEO, Jeff Smisek, stepped down Tuesday in light of a federal investigation into the airline’s relationship with David Samson, the former chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Smisek wasn’t the only executive to leave the organization on Tuesday. Reuters reported the departures of United’s executive vice president of communications and government affairs, Irene Foxhall, and its senior vice president of corporate and government affairs, Mark Anderson.
United released the following statement and confirmed the departures were tied to the current investigation, but it refused to discuss any details about the investigation’s findings:
The departures announced today are in connection with the company’s previously disclosed internal investigation related to the federal investigation associated with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The investigations are ongoing and the company continues to cooperate with the government.
The Huffington Post further explained the reason for the investigation:
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