Company Leadership

Scott Kirby was appointed chief executive officer of United Airlines in 2020 just as United was facing the worst crisis in its history caused by the pandemic. Under his leadership, United has made a number of strategic investments to execute the company’s strategy including its United Next growth plan, a commitment to be 100% green by 2050 without relying on traditional carbon offsets, and taking real action on diversity, equity and inclusion with the opening of the United Aviate Academy. The goal of the academy is to train about 5,000 new pilots at the school by 2030 with at least half being women or people of color. Prior to United, Scott’s 30-year career in aviation included time at America West, US Airways, and American Airlines where he served as President up until being named President of United Airlines in 2016. Scott earned his bachelor’s degrees in computer science and operations research from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a Master of Science in operations research from George Washington University. He is married and has seven children. 

Brett J. Hart is president of United. In this role, Brett is responsible for United’s global operations – flight, technical and network operations as well as inflight services and safety. In addition, he leads the company’s external-facing functions including the government affairs, regulatory, corporate communications, advertising, market and community innovation, legal, global community engagement and environmental sustainability teams. He also oversees business-critical functions such as the corporate real estate, human resources and labor relations teams.

Previously, Brett served as executive vice president and chief administrative officer for United, where he oversaw the company’s legal and environmental affairs; corporate security; corporate real estate worldwide; government affairs; community affairs; and international, regulatory and policy matters for the airline. Prior to joining United in 2010, Brett was executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Sara Lee Corporation, where he directed global legal operations for the corporation. After joining Sara Lee in 2004 as assistant general counsel, Brett held positions of increasing responsibility including deputy general counsel and global compliance officer. Before joining Sara Lee, Brett was a partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Chicago. Prior to that, he served as special assistant to the general counsel at the U.S. Department of Treasury in Washington, D.C.

Brett received his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and English from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. He is married and has three sons.

Josh Earnest is executive vice president of communications and advertising for United Airlines. He serves on United’s Executive Team and leads a world-class team to develop and implement the airline’s global communications, advertising and community engagement strategies. Josh works closely with leaders across the company to shape the airline’s public image and serves as the company’s chief spokesman. He brings to this role more than two decades of strategic communications expertise from the highest levels of politics and government, which included serving as White House Press Secretary.

Before joining United in May 2018, Josh was a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, making appearances on the network’s leading news programs including the Today Show, Meet the Press and NBC Nightly News. During this time, he traveled across the country and around the world speaking to audiences of corporate executives, senior government officials, thought leaders, journalists and students about the challenges of communicating in the modern media environment.

Prior to that, Josh served for eight years in the Obama White House, including as White House Press Secretary from 2014 to 2017. In addition to his work in front of the cameras, Josh played a leading role behind the scenes at the White House to develop and implement an innovative communications strategy that was paired with a fully-integrated digital media presence to drive the administration’s agenda.

His two-decade career in politics has taken him from Capitol Hill to some of the largest states and most competitive races in the country, including four presidential campaigns, statewide races in Texas and Florida and Mike Bloomberg’s first campaign for mayor of New York.

Josh received his degree in political science and policy studies from Rice University. He is married and has two children.

Toby Enqvist is the global chief operations officer for United. He is responsible for corporate safety, airport operations, flight operations, inflight operations, network operations center, operations performance, corporate real estate and customer solutions.

Toby has been in the airline industry for over 25 years — joining Continental in 1996. During his time at Continental and United Airlines, he has held various leadership positions within operations and finance. Prior to his current role, Toby was executive vice president and chief customer officer where he created innovative solutions to improve our customers’ journey while providing our front-line employees the tools, policies and processes needed to succeed at their jobs.

Born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden, Toby moved to the U.S. to attend Ouachita Baptist University on a tennis scholarship, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration. He received his Master’s of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University. He is a member of the Northwestern University Business Advisory Council. He is married and has a daughter.

Terri Fariello is the executive vice president of government affairs and global public policy at United. In this role, Terri leads the company’s federal, state and international government engagement, including environmental affairs. She is based in Washington, D.C.

Before joining United, Terri served as vice president of Exxon Mobil Corporation’s Washington, D.C. office and led the company’s federal and state government affairs operation. In her 16-year tenure at Exxon Mobil, Terri advised the company’s senior leadership on key issues before Congress, the executive branch and state governments.

Prior to joining Exxon Mobil, Terri served as deputy assistant secretary for International Energy Policy in the Office of International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy and held senior leadership positions at Occidental Petroleum Corporation. She also served as a Congressional aide to two members of Congress. Throughout her career, Terri has been recognized for leadership in government relations, including being named to the Washingtonian Magazine’s list of “Most Powerful Women” and The Hill’s “Top Lobbyists.”

Terri holds an LLM in International and Comparative Law from the Georgetown University Law Center and a juris doctorate from George Mason University School of Law. She received her undergraduate degree in political science from George Washington University.

Terri serves on the Board of Directors for Energy Vault, a publicly traded company. She contributes to her community by serving on the boards of a number of groups including the National Archives Foundation, Public Affairs Council, Business Council for International Understanding, the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., the Carlton Club, Ford’s Theatre, and the Humane Rescue Alliance.

Kate is the executive vice president of human resources and labor relations at United Airlines, where she is responsible for the transformation of the company’s culture by leading a global team of over 800 professionals. Kate oversees talent acquisition, development, retention, fostering high-performing teams that prioritize customer satisfaction in all of United’s operations and collaboration with labor partners, with a focus on enhancing the employee experience. 

Previously, Kate served as United’s senior vice president of customer service delivery and chief customer officer, where she played a pivotal role in unifying the customer journey from booking to arrival. Joining the airline in 1998, Kate has a history of leadership in various capacities, including serving as vice president for the office of the CEO, where she worked alongside former CEO Oscar Munoz to align and advance strategic initiatives across the company. Kate has also held roles leading the corporate real estate organization and in procurement. 

In addition to her corporate responsibilities, Kate serves as a board member for State Farm Insurance, is an advisory board member of P33 Chicago and serves as a Leadership Greater Chicago Daniel Burnham Fellow. Her academic credentials include a bachelor’s degree in finance from DePaul University in Chicago and a master’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business.

Michael Leskinen is executive vice president and chief financial officer at United. Leskinen joined United in 2018 as managing director of Investor Relations and was promoted to vice president of Corporate Development and Investor Relations in 2019. In 2021, he added the title of President of United Airlines Ventures (UAV), an industry-first corporate venture capital fund that identifies and invests in opportunities to decarbonize air travel and enhance the customer travel experience.

In 2020, Leskinen led the multi-divisional team that successfully raised $6.8 billion of financing secured by the airline’s MileagePlus loyalty program, an industry first giving United critical financial flexibility to manage through the pandemic. More recently, Leskinen oversaw the launch of a nearly $200 million corporate investment fund that includes investments from UAV and other corporate and financial sponsors to support start-ups focused on accelerating the research and production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

Prior to United, Leskinen was an executive director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management from 2013-2017, where he led the firm's investment efforts in aerospace, defense, and airlines. And from 2009-2013, he worked at Oppenheimer Funds focused on the aerospace sector. Leskinen received his bachelor's degree in finance from Arizona State University and his M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. Leskinen and his wife Stephanie have six children and live in the Chicago suburbs.

Andrew Nocella is United’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer. He brings expansive knowledge to this position, having joined the industry over 20 years ago.

In his current role, Andrew oversees all aspects of United’s commercial strategies and product design including cargo, United Express, pricing and revenue management, network and commercial strategy, sales, alliances, marketing functions and MileagePlus.

Before joining United, Andrew held various leadership positions at American Airlines and US Airways. He most recently served as senior vice president of network planning, alliance and sales at American Airlines, where he oversaw the airline’s route schedule, global sales and partnerships with other airlines. Before that role, he was senior vice president of marketing and planning at US Airways. He also spent time in route planning for Continental Airlines.

Andrew earned a Bachelor of Science in decision sciences from George Mason University.