Oct. 26--The acting CEO of Chicago-based United Continental Holdings, parent of United Airlines, will receive $100,000 per month in additional compensation in his interim role, the airline has said.
United appointed Brett J. Hart, the company's executive vice president and general counsel, as acting CEO on Oct. 19 following the medical leave of recently installed CEO Oscar Munoz, who is recovering from a heart attack.
Hart will get the $100,000-per-month in added pay during his tenure as acting CEO, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. When Hart was first hired in 2010, his base pay was set at $500,000 per year. He was also eligible for incentive pay and a variety of benefits.
The airline still has not released details on the pay package for Munoz, who joined the company from his post as a United board member on Sept. 8.
United has endured massive upheaval recently, with three CEOs guiding the company over the past seven weeks.
In early September, CEO Jeff Smisek abruptly resigned along with two top lieutenants due to ongoing internal and federal criminal probes associated with a New York-area port authority scandal. Experts placed the value of Smisek's severance package at $8.4 million at the time of his ouster. That was composed of nearly $4.9 million in cash, plus nearly 61,000 shares of United stock.
Smisek was replaced immediately by Munoz, who at the time was a top executive at rail company CSX.
Then on Oct. 15, Munoz, 56, in just his sixth week on the job, suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized.
Last week, Hart, 46, was named acting CEO, with no timetable given for the return of Munoz.
gkarp@tribpub.com
