Thomas W. Horton facts for kids

Thomas W. Horton (born May 24, 1961) is a successful business leader. He is a partner at Global Infrastructure Partners and a lead director at big companies like Walmart Inc. and General Electric Corp. He used to be the chairman, president, and CEO of American Airlines Group, Inc.

Thomas Horton is known for making American Airlines much better. He helped the company through a big change, which ended with it joining with US Airways. This made American Airlines Group one of the biggest airlines in the world.

Early Life and School

Thomas Horton was born in Hampton, Virginia, in 1961. He spent most of his life growing up in Texas. He went to Baylor University and earned a special degree called a BBA. Later, in 1985, he got his MBA degree from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.

His Career Journey

Thomas Horton started working at AMR, the company that owned American Airlines, in 1985. He worked in the finance department. From 1998 to 2000, he lived in London and led the airline's international business. In 2000, he became the chief financial officer (CFO), which means he was in charge of the company's money.

In 2002, he moved to AT&T, a large telecommunications company, as their CFO. He later became a vice-chairman. He helped create the "new AT&T" by leading important decisions about the company's future.

Horton came back to American Airlines in 2006. He continued to work in finance and planning. In 2008, a magazine called Institutional Investor named him a top CFO in the U.S. In 2010, he became the president of the airline.

Leading American Airlines

On November 28, 2011, Thomas Horton became the CEO and chairman of American Airlines. He led a team to make big changes to the company. They worked to lower costs and make the airline profitable again. This included updating their airplanes and making new agreements with employees.

Horton also led a huge project to get new airplanes. American Airlines ordered 460 new jets from Boeing and Airbus. This was the largest airplane order in history at the time! It helped replace older planes and made the airline more modern. His team also gave American Airlines a new look, with a new logo and flag design on the planes.

The Big Merger

During this time, Horton also worked on a deal for American Airlines to join with US Airways. This was a very complex process, but he made sure that the people who had invested in American Airlines got their money back. The two companies officially joined to form American Airlines Group. This new company became the largest airline in the world. Thomas Horton finished his time as chairman in June 2014.

In April 2019, Horton became a partner at Global Infrastructure Partners, a company that invests in big projects around the world.

Board Roles

Thomas Horton has served on the boards of several important companies. He was on the board of Qualcomm Inc. from 2008 to 2019. Since November 2014, he has been on the board of Walmart, a very large retail company, where he is now a lead director. In September 2015, he also became a lead director for General Electric's board. He is also part of the executive board for the SMU Cox School of Business and a board member for the National Air and Space Museum.

Personal Life

Thomas Horton is married and has two grown children. He enjoys running and is also a commercial pilot who can fly jet planes.