United Airlines appoints insider Leskinen as finance chief

(Reuters) – United Airlines said on Friday it had promoted company insider Michael Leskinen to chief financial officer, nearly four months after Gerry Laderman announced plans to retire in 2024.

Leskinen’s appointments comes at a time when United is set to benefit from a boom in high-margin international travel, even though early signs show that domestic travel demand might have peaked.

In the second quarter, international passenger revenue accounted for about 41% of the airline’s total passenger revenue.

Leskinen joined the Chicago-based carrier in 2018 as the managing director for investor relations and most recently served as the president of United Airlines Ventures.

He also led the team that raised $6.8 billion in financing secured by the airline’s MileagePlus loyalty program, helping the company wade through the pandemic.

Earlier, the carrier had announced that Laderman would remain in his role until the appointment of a successor and would serve as an executive vice president of finance until his planned retirement in September next year.

The company’s stock had risen 16% this year, compared with a 12.8% gain in the .