Dive Brief:
- JetBlue Airways has made its interim CFO Ursula Hurley permanent, the company announced.
- Hurley stepped into the acting finance chief role in May after JetBlue’s CFO since 2017, Steve Priest, announced he would be moving to the CFO role at eBay. Prior to that, Hurley headed treasury and investor relations for the New York-based airliner.
- Hurley joined JetBlue in 2004 as financial planning and analysis (FP&A) manager, and has served in a variety of leadership roles since, including corporate finance manager and vice president of structural programs.
Dive Insight:
As CFO, Hurley will oversee JetBlue’s finance function, including accounting, audit, aircraft and engine transactions, cash management, corporate finance, fuel and tax, according to the company. She will also oversee the company’s real estate and strategic sourcing units and will continue reporting to CEO Robin Hayes.
“With a steady hand, [Hurley]’s raised capital to allow us to weather the challenges and [has] proven to be focused on helping us manage our cost structure,” Hayes said in a statement. “As we emerge from the pandemic, her continued leadership in managing costs will be fundamental to her role.”
Earlier this summer, as conditions improved and travel saw an upswing, JetBlue reported a $1.5 billion-revenue quarter for the period ending June 30, compared with $215 million in the prior-year period. It generated $64 million in net income, against a $320 million net loss in the same period last year.
“Looking ahead to 2022, we are laser-focused on aggressively managing our costs and expanding our margins as we continue to grow capacity and earnings,” Hurley told analysts at the time. “We are committed to generating better than pre-pandemic earnings in the next few years by growing revenue and controlling costs, and we’re extremely confident we’re on the right path to expand margins in a sustainable way.”
“I’m so excited to continue to work closely with both the senior leadership team and our incredible finance team to support JetBlue’s recovery,” the release quotes Hurley as saying. “Together we’re committed to rebuilding margins, maintaining our focus on costs, and repairing our balance sheet to help us continue to thrive."
It's not common for treasurers, like Hurley, to move to the CFO seat. According to data from the Crist Kolder Volatility Report, which studied executive trends among S&P and Fortune 500 companies, fewer than 9% of CFOs rose to their position directly from the treasurer seat at the company.
Representatives for JetBlue and for Hurley did not respond to CFO Dive's requests for comment.
