Spirit Airlines Inc."™s chief executive officer said he"™ll stay in the job one more year before handing leadership of the deep discounter to its current finance chief, the company said Wednesday.
Robert Fornaro, 64, who took over at the airline early last year following the ouster of its previous CEO, will cede the job to Chief Financial Officer Ted Christie on Jan. 1. 2019, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Ahead of the move, Christie will become president of the airline and join its board at the beginning of 2018.
"Over the past two years as CEO, Bob has led a real transformation at Spirit, driving dramatic improvements in operational reliability and in the customer experience while strengthening our executive team," Spirit Chairman Mac Gardner said in the statement. "He has also provided nimble, experienced leadership through a volatile competitive environment."
Fornaro was seen as a steadying influence two years ago when he took on the president and CEO roles. In 2015, Spirit shares had fallen 47 percent partly because of previous CEO Ben Baldanza"™s move to expand in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. American Airlines Group Inc., which has a dominant hub there, quickly matched Spirit"™s low fares, damaging the carrier"™s fortunes…
