UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 14, 2018
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 001-06033 | 36-2675207 | ||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) |
(Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification Number) |
| 233 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL | 60606 | |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
(872) 825-4000
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| ☐ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 5.02 | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
On May 14, 2018, Andrew Levy, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of United Continental Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”), notified the Company of his intention to resign from the Company.
On May 16, 2018, the Board of Directors of the Company elected Gerald Laderman as Senior Vice President Finance and acting Chief Financial Officer of the Company.
Mr. Laderman, age 60, has served as Senior Vice President Finance, Procurement and Treasurer of the Company since August 2016 and also served in this role from 2013 to August 2015. From August 2015 to August 2016, Mr. Laderman served as Senior Vice President Finance and acting Chief Financial Officer of the Company. From 2001 to 2010, Mr. Laderman served as senior vice president of finance and treasurer for Continental Airlines, Inc. (“Continental”). Mr. Laderman joined Continental in 1988 as senior director legal affairs, finance and aircraft programs. Prior to joining Continental, Mr. Laderman practiced law at the New York firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed from 1982 to 1988. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Dartmouth College and a juris doctor from the University of Michigan Law School.
At this time, changes to Mr. Laderman’s compensation arrangements with the Company have not been determined. The Company will file an amendment to this Current Report on Form 8-K disclosing such information when it has been determined.
| Item 7.01 | Regulation FD Disclosure. |
On May 17, 2018, the Company issued a press release regarding Mr. Laderman’s election as acting Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.
The information in this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1, is being furnished and shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section and shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
| Exhibit No. |
Description | |
| 99.1 | Press Release issued by United Continental Holdings, Inc. dated May 17, 2018 | |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||
| By: | /s/ Jennifer L. Kraft | |||||
| Name: | Jennifer L. Kraft | |||||
| Title: | Vice President and Corporate Secretary | |||||
Date: May 17, 2018
Exhibit 99.1
| News Release
United Airlines Worldwide Media Relations 872.825.8640 Media.relations@united.com |
|
United Airlines Announces CFO Transition
Chicago, May 17, 2018 – United Airlines (UAL) today announced Gerry Laderman has been named acting chief financial officer. He succeeds Andrew Levy, who has decided to leave United. UAL will immediately begin a search for a new chief financial officer.
Laderman currently serves as senior vice president of finance, procurement and treasurer and as a member of the senior executive leadership team. He has held legal and financial positions of increasing responsibility at the company for nearly 30 years and will be responsible for continuing to execute United’s overall financial strategy, including cost management, capital allocation and balance sheet optimization.
“I personally want to thank Andrew for his contributions to United. He leaves the company in a stronger financial position and with a clear strategy and framework in place. Our exceptional operational performance and our focus on productivity are driving improved profitability despite anticipated fuel headwinds and we remain confident in our existing financial guidance,” said CEO Oscar Munoz. “Gerry’s deep experience and financial acumen mean that he is ideally suited to lead our finance organization during this transitional period. Gerry will work with the rest of the team to continue delivering on our financial strategy as we search for a permanent CFO.”
About United
United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,600 flights a day to 354 airports across five continents. In 2017, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 148 million customers. United is proud to have the world’s most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 750 mainline aircraft and the airline’s United Express carriers operate 545 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 191 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United’s parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol “UAL”.
# # #
United Airlines Announces CFO Transition / Page 2
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements included in this release are forward-looking and thus reflect our current expectations and beliefs with respect to certain current and future events and anticipated financial and operating performance. Such forward-looking statements are and will be subject to many risks and uncertainties relating to our operations and business environment that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Words such as “expects,” “will,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “indicates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “forecast,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “goals” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Additionally, forward-looking statements include statements that do not relate solely to historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties, or which indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to us on the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the following: general economic conditions (including interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, investment or credit market conditions, crude oil prices, costs of aircraft fuel and energy refining capacity in relevant markets); economic and political instability and other risks of doing business globally, including political developments that may impact our operations in certain countries; demand for travel and the impact that global economic and political conditions have on customer travel patterns; competitive pressures on pricing and on demand; demand for transportation in the markets in which we operate; our capacity decisions and the capacity decisions of our competitors; the effects of any hostilities, act of war or terrorist attack; the effects of any technology failures or cybersecurity breaches; the impact of regulatory, investigative and legal proceedings and legal compliance risks; disruptions to our regional network; the ability of other air carriers with whom we have alliances or partnerships to provide the services contemplated by the respective arrangements with such carriers; costs associated with any modification or termination of our aircraft orders; potential reputational or other impact from adverse events in our operations, the operations of our regional carriers or the operations of our code share partners; our ability to attract and retain customers; our ability to execute our operational plans and revenue-generating initiatives, including optimizing our revenue; our ability to control our costs, including realizing benefits from our resource optimization efforts, cost reduction initiatives and fleet replacement programs; the impact of any management changes; our ability to cost-effectively hedge against increases in the price of aircraft fuel if we decide to do so; any potential realized or unrealized gains or losses related to any fuel or currency hedging programs; labor costs; our ability to maintain satisfactory labor relations and the results of any collective bargaining agreement process with our union groups; any disruptions to operations due to any potential actions by our labor groups; an outbreak of a disease that affects travel demand or travel behavior; U.S. or foreign governmental legislation, regulation and other actions (including Open Skies agreements and environmental regulations); industry consolidation or changes in airline alliances; our ability to comply with the terms of our various financing arrangements; the costs and availability of financing; our ability to maintain adequate liquidity; the costs and availability of aviation and other insurance; weather conditions; our ability to utilize our net operating losses to offset future taxable income; the impact of changes in tax laws; the success of our investments in airlines in other parts of the world; and other risks and uncertainties set forth under Part I, Item 1A., “Risk Factors,” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.