American Airlines vice chair, president of American Eagle and strategic advisor Derek Kerr will retire from the airline on Sept. 30, the carrier announced Friday. Kerr, who also leads American’s regional and cargo teams, had stepped down as CFO at the end of 2022 and was succeeded by Devon May.
“Derek Kerr is one of the finest and most accomplished executives in the history of the airline business,” American CEO Robert Isom said in a statement. “American is very well positioned for the future because of his leadership.”
Over the course of 20 years, Kerr had served as CFO of America West Airlines, US Airways and then American. He was instrumental in the mergers of America West and US Airways in 2005 and US Airways and American in 2013, according to the carrier.
The announcement comes as American has been going through a reshuffling of its corporate sales team. American VP of global sales Thomas Rajan stepped into his role in September. In January, chief customer officer Alison Taylor announced she too would retire and remain as an advisor this year, with her duties split between chief commercial officer Vasu Raja and SVP of global partnerships and international Scott Laurence. In February, the carrier announced a restructured corporate sales organization.
