Southwest Airlines Co. has made several leadership updates throughout the company, which were announced today. These changes are now in effect and mark the ongoing progress of Southwest Airlines‘ organizational restructuring efforts that commenced in September 2022 and have extended into 2024.

Technology

• Carrie Mills has been promoted from Vice President Technology, Cybersecurity to Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer—Cybersecurity.

Mills, in her role as Chief Information Security Officer, will have the overall responsibility for cybersecurity in Southwest’s facilities, airports, and aircraft. This includes overseeing security engineering, security operations, incident response, threat intelligence, risk and compliance, and vulnerability management. Additionally, she will continue to lead the Cybersecurity Team, managing the day-to-day operations and driving key initiatives such as Privileged Access Management, Technology Data Privacy, expansion of Multi-Factor Authentication, Vulnerability Management, and Incident Response and Recovery.

In 2017, Mills joined Southwest Airlines as the Senior Manager responsible for Cybersecurity Threat Intelligence and Response. Under her leadership, the team achieved multiple victories in enhancing Southwest’s Cybersecurity. These successes encompassed the establishment of a round-the-clock Security Operations Center (SOC) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) capabilities, improving incident response procedures, implementing Shape Security to combat account takeover attacks, introducing advanced technologies for vulnerability management and reporting, deploying an enterprise-wide Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) platform, forming a Cybersecurity Aviation Team to meet Federal Agency requirements, and leading an Integrated Risk Management platform project. Mills’ expertise in Cybersecurity and strong leadership skills have been instrumental in expanding Southwest’s Cybersecurity capabilities. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management information systems.

• With Mill’s shift in responsibility. Jim Dayton’s role has changed from Vice President & CISO Technology—Platforms & Architecture to Vice President Technology—Platforms & Architecture.

Dayton’s role entails the development of advanced data and technology platforms that are utilized by Development Teams. This includes Cloud and DevOps development platforms, along with various enterprise data platforms such as analytics, optimization, integration, data lake, and data warehouse. Additionally, Dayton oversees the Technology Architecture function, ensuring the overall technical design of Southwest’s systems is resilient, secure, and efficient.

Before this transition, Dayton previously held the position of Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Southwest Airlines. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing all cybersecurity aspects, including security engineering, operations, incident response, threat intelligence, risk management, compliance, and vulnerability management. Prior to that, as the Vice President of Technology-Operations Portfolio, Dayton supported various critical operating systems at Southwest Airlines, including Flight Operations, Inflight Operations, Network Operations Control (NOC), Safety & Security, and Technical Operations Departments. He worked closely with these teams to ensure the successful implementation of new technologies that enhanced Southwest’s necessary capabilities. Since joining Southwest in 2012, Dayton has held leadership positions in multiple technology areas, such as Operations Recovery, Network Planning, and Revenue Management. He also served as the Technology Delivery Leader for Southwest’s multi-year Reservation System implementation. Before joining Southwest Airlines, Dayton held the role of Director of Consulting at companies like PeopleSoft, i2 Technologies, and Oracle.

Southwest Airlines President & CEO, Bob Jordan, emphasized that the essence of their identity lies in their exceptional People and the unparalleled Hospitality they provide. According to him, the People of Southwest Airlines possess an unparalleled commitment to service, and the company takes pride in both acknowledging and improving its organizational framework to ensure the delivery of their utmost best to both their People and Customers.