Facilities, IT Departments Get New Leaders

Southwest Airlines has announced two leadership changes.

John Zuzu has been promoted to Managing Director Corporate Facilities, which became effective Aug. 1. Zuzu joined Southwest in 1995 and previously served as Senior Director of Corporate Facilities. Zuzu has a combined 35 years of experience in building design, construction, and maintenance. Over the last 22 years, he has held numerous roles at Southwest, all within the Facilities Department, including: Computer Aided Drafting Specialist, Project Manager, Special Projects Lead, and Director.

"John is a consummate professional and a tremendous Leader, managing a myriad of very complex projects vital to our Company's growth—and he and his Team deliver them on time and on budget," said Southwest's Executive Vice President Corporate Services Bob Jordan. "We are extremely fortunate to have someone of John's caliber leading our fantastic Corporate Facilities Department."

Additionally, Thomas Merritt is joining Southwest Airlines as Vice President Technology—IT & Infrastructure Services, effective Aug. 7. Merritt joins Southwest with over 30 years of technical and leadership experience. Most recently, Merritt served as Senior Vice President of Enterprise Technology Operations at Sabre, where he led the architecture, engineering, and operational support for all infrastructure platforms. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Architecture, Engineering, and Operations at Sears Holdings, where he was responsible for the architecture, design, and support of all technology platforms. Merritt has also previously served in other various consultative, technical, and leadership roles at United Airlines, Blue Cross Blue Shield Florida, The Feld Group, and Bank of America.

"I am thrilled to welcome Tom into the Southwest Leadership Team. Tom has a vast amount of expertise and experience across several industries, which will serve us well as we continue to invest in and build our technology capabilities for generations to come," said Southwest's Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Kathleen Wayton.  

(Source: Southwest news release)

FMI: www.southwest.com