WHY IT RATES: In
making executive leadership promotions in its technology division, Southwest
Airlines demonstrates a dedication to strengthening cybersecurity
infrastructure, which is critical for achieving operational resilience and
ensuring customer data protection in an increasingly digital environment. — Laurie
Baratti, TravelPulse Associate Writer
Southwest Airlines
Co. today announced recent Leadership updates across the Company. These changes
are effective immediately and represent a continuation of the organizational
structure work at Southwest Airlines that began in September 2022 and
has continued into 2024.
Technology
- Carrie Mills has been promoted
from Vice President Technology, Cybersecurity to Vice President &
Chief Information Security Officer—Cybersecurity.
As Chief
Information Security Officer, Mills will be responsible for all aspects of
cybersecurity across Southwest's facilities, airports, and aircraft,
comprising security engineering, security operations, incident response, threat
intelligence, risk and compliance, and vulnerability management. She will
continue leading the Cybersecurity Team, where she is responsible for the daily
operation of the Cybersecurity function and lead our top Cybersecurity
initiatives, including Privileged Access Management, Technology Data Privacy,
expansion of Multi-Factor Authentication, Vulnerability Management, and Incident
Response and Recovery.
Mills joined
Southwest in 2017 as the Senior Manager of Cybersecurity Threat Intelligence
and Response. Her Leadership and guidance have driven Team wins across numerous
efforts to improve Southwest's Cybersecurity posture. Key initiatives include
the buildout of an around-the-clock Security Operations Center (SOC) and
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) capabilities; enhancing the
Cybersecurity incident response processes and procedures; the original
implementation of Shape Security to combat Customer account takeover attacks;
the rollout of improved technologies to aid in vulnerability management and
reporting; the deployment of an enterprise-wide Endpoint Detection and Response
(EDR) platform; and the development of a Cybersecurity Aviation Team to help
meet the requirements of many Federal Agencies, and leading a project to
implement an Integrated Risk Management platform. Mills' Cybersecurity domain
expertise and Leadership talents have been invaluable in growing Southwest's
Cybersecurity capabilities. Mills earned a Bachelor of Business Administration
in management information systems from the University of Oklahoma, and
she's a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) with a
long-standing passion for Cybersecurity.
- 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.
In this role,
Dayton will be responsible for building out modern foundational data and
technology platforms used and leveraged by Development Teams. The Team's work
includes Cloud and DevOps development platforms as well as all enterprise data
platforms comprising analytics, optimization, integration, data lake, and data
warehouse. Dayton also leads the Technology Architecture function, responsible
for the overall technical design of Southwest's systems to ensure the
resiliency, security, and effectiveness of the Company's technology solutions.
Before this
transition, Dayton led cybersecurity as Vice President and CISO, overseeing all
aspects of cybersecurity across Southwest Airlines' facilities, airports, and
aircraft, including security engineering, operations, incident response, threat
intelligence, risk management, compliance, and vulnerability management. Prior
to that, he served as Vice President, Technology–Operations Portfolio,
supporting Southwest's complex operating systems such as Flight Operations,
Inflight Operations, Network Operations Control (NOC), Safety & Security,
and Technical Operations Departments. He collaborated closely with these Teams
to ensure the successful delivery of new technologies that redefined necessary
capabilities for Southwest's critical operating systems. Since joining
Southwest in 2012, Dayton has served as a Leader in multiple areas of
Technology including Operations Recovery, Network Planning, and Revenue
Management, and was the Technology Delivery Leader for Southwest's multi-year
Reservation System implementation. Before Southwest Airlines, Dayton worked as
a Director of Consulting at several companies, including PeopleSoft, i2
Technologies, and Oracle. He previously worked at Capital One Auto Finance as
Director of Loan Servicing Systems.
"The biggest
thing that makes us 'us' is our People, and the unique and unrivaled
Hospitality they deliver," Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines President
& Chief Executive Officer said. "No one has a Heart of service like
the People of Southwest Airlines, and we're proud to not only individually
recognize our amazing folks, but continue to enhance our organizational
structure, making sure can deliver our very best selves to the People of
Southwest and our Customers."
SOURCE: Southwest Airlines
Co. press release.
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