Virgin COO quits after losing battle for top role
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The chief commercial officer of Virgin Atlantic, Julie Southern, is to leave the company in May after missing out on the role of CEO.
Having been beaten to the post by Craig Kreeger, a former executive at American Airlines, Southern will now leave the airline she worked at for 13 years. Southern was seen by many as the most likely successor to the company’s outgoing chief executive Steve Ridgway, who retired recently after 11 years in charge.
Virgin said in a statement, released to The Daily Telegraph, that Southern will be moving on “to pursue new challenges” on 10 May, having been “pivotal in leading the airline’s commercial endeavours during times of rapid growth and expansion.” The airline added: “She will remain a close friend of the airline and we wish her well.”
Since the appointment of Kreeger in January, Southern has continued in her role as chief commercial officer, leading the implementation of Virgin’s joint venture with Delta, which agreed to buy a 49% stake in the UK carrier for $360 million. Before joining Virgin in July 2000, Southern was finance director for Porsche Cars in the UK.