FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines is further integrating its People and Communications team to create more positive and consistent team member experiences. In the new structure, Ron DeFeo will be promoted to Senior Vice President of Global Engagement and Patrick O’Keeffe will continue to oversee the People department in his role as Senior Vice President of People.
Updated Org Structure to Drive More Collaboration Across Team Member Initiatives
FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines is further integrating its People and Communications team to create more positive and consistent team member experiences. In the new structure, Ron DeFeo will be promoted to Senior Vice President of Global Engagement and Patrick O’Keeffe will continue to oversee the People department in his role as Senior Vice President of People. Both Ron and Patrick will continue to report to Elise Eberwein, Executive Vice President of People and Communications.
Elise described Ron’s contributions: “Since Ron joined American three years ago, he has proven to be a fast learner and now has a broad base of knowledge about our complex and fast-paced business. He’s built a team of communications professionals who participate in every large operational and commercial decision we make and who help guide our decision-making with a focus on supporting frontline team members and our customers. Expanding his responsibilities is both a reflection of the positive mark he has already made at American and an indication of the influence we want him to have on our future.”
Global Engagement
In his expanded role, Ron will assume the additional responsibilities of American’s leadership development and enterprise learning and engagement programs. This work, led by Thomas Rajan, Managing Director of Talent Strategy and People Development, aligns well with the areas Ron already oversees today, which includes recognition, event management and the One Campus One Team project. Ron also will continue to oversee all internal and external communications, community affairs and American’s foundations, including the CR Smith Museum, and the social media team. And, he will continue to support communications for our Government Relations team in Washington, D.C.
People
Patrick will continue to oversee all Team Members Services, Talent Acquisition and Management, Benefits and Compensation, and Inclusion and Diversity. Within the People department, Marissa Horne, Managing Director of Talent Acquisition, will assume additional responsibility for succession planning and goal setting/performance management.
Elise continued, “Patrick began leading our People department 18 months ago and has done a phenomenal job in a relatively short time. During his tenure, he oversaw the team that successfully implemented our new Human Resources Information System, and he is bringing improved data gathering, analytics and process improvements to HR. Patrick and his team also served as the champion of American Voice, our first annual all team member survey in many years. Patrick is an extremely well-rounded leader who possesses the right structure mindset for our large-scale HR work while never forgetting the compassionate side of leading people.
“I join Patrick and our entire leadership team in congratulating Ron on his expanded responsibilities. Both Ron and Patrick consider the team member perspective in all they lead, and their advocacy makes American stronger. We look forward to their continued contributions and advocacy on behalf of our team members.”
