Southwest Airlines shakes up its board under pressure from a big shareholder

AP Airlines Writer

Southwest Airlines will revamp its board and the chairman will retire next year, but it intends to stick with CEO Robert Jordan. The moves were announced Tuesday after Southwest met with representatives from hedge fund Elliott Investment Management, which is pushing for changes including a leadership shakeup at the airline. Southwest says six directors will leave the board in November and it plans to appoint four new ones, who could include candidates put forward by Elliott. And Chairman Gary Kelly will step down next year. Elliott has called for the ouster of Jordan and Kelly.