United Airlines announced that Brett J. Hart, its current Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, will be appointed President of United Airlines Holdings effective May 20.

The Chicago-based carrier said Hart's appointment is a continuation of the company's leadership succession plan announced in early December with current CEO Oscar Munoz transitioning to Executive Chair and current President Scott Kirby becoming CEO of the company.

"Brett is a well-established and widely respected leader who has established a strong track record, over the last decade, helping United navigate complex challenges across all areas of our business," Munoz said. "He is recognized inside and outside of the airline industry for his leadership and has played a central role in shaping our strategy, culture and leading our community engagement around the world."

Since joining United in 2010, Hart has taken on a variety of significant strategic responsibilities for the company at critical moments – most notably in October 2015 when he served as interim CEO for six months while Munoz recovered from a heart transplant.

"Working closely with Brett over the last 3 years, I have seen first-hand his thoughtful and intellectually rigorous approach to navigating the complex environment in which we operate and effectively implementing our business strategy," Kirby said.

"The leadership Brett has shown as we have managed the current crisis reinforces the conclusion I reached last year: Brett is exactly the leader that United needs right now to take on the role of President."

As President of United, Hart will continue to lead the company's public advocacy strategy including the Government Affairs, Corporate Communications, Legal and Community Engagement teams. He will also continue to oversee business-critical functions like the Corporate Real Estate team and manage United's industry-leading environmental sustainability efforts. His responsibilities will expand to include managing the Human Resources and Labor Relations teams.

"I am honored and energized as I take on these new responsibilities to lead this incredible team that I am convinced will build United into a thriving industry leader," Hart said.

"The path forward will not be easy, but I am confident that Scott and I will continue our partnership to lead United through the extraordinary challenge posed by COVID-19.

Like Munoz and Kirby, Hart will forgo his salary as President. The company will not replace the role of Chief Administrative Officer," he added.

Before joining United, Hart was executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Sara Lee Corporation. He was also a partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Chicago and have served as special assistant to the general counsel at the U.S. Department of Treasury in Washington, D.C.