American Announces Sue Oliver Departure
American Airlines announced today that Sue Oliver, its Senior Vice
President-Human Resources, is leaving the company to accept a position as
Senior Vice President of People for Wal-Mart Stores, USA, at its
headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. Jeffrey J. Brundage, who has guided all
of American’s relationships with its labor unions as Vice President of
Employee Relations, was named to succeed Oliver.
“We are very sorry to see Sue leave the American Airlines family, and we
wish her every success in her new responsibilities with Wal-Mart,” said
Gerard J. Arpey, American’s president and chief executive officer. “Sue is
an exceptionally talented executive who has made important contributions
to the process of creating a new environment for our people under the
‘Pull Together, Win Together’ tenet of our Turnaround Plan.
“At the same time, we are extremely fortunate to have an executive of Jeff
Brundage’s experience and deep understanding of employee issues to succeed
Sue in this vitally important role,” Arpey said. “Jeff has been an ardent
supporter of the active engagement process with our employee groups and
will provide strong leadership as we continue to build for the future hand
in hand with our people.”
Brundage joined American in December 1999 as Managing Director of Employee
Relations for the Flight Department, where he had primary liaison
responsibility between the airline and the Allied Pilots Association,
which represents American’s pilots. In February 2001, he was appointed
Vice President of Employee Relations, responsible for relations with all
of the carrier’s union groups.
For seven years prior to joining American, Brundage worked for the Airline
Pilots Association International, most recently as the Senior Collective
Bargaining Coordinator. He began his aviation career as a pilot for Pocono
Airlines before serving in the same capacity for Atlantic Coast Airlines.
Brundage studied at Johnson and Wales College in Providence, Rhode Island,
and worked on several political campaigns.
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He and his wife, Diane, reside in Colleyville, Texas.
Oliver joined American in 1986 as a Counsel in Employee Relations and had
spent the majority of her career with American in that department. She was
promoted to Vice President of Employee Relations in 1997 and was named
Senior Vice President of Human Resources in 2000.
Oliver’s undergraduate degree is from George Washington University. She
holds a Law Degree from the University of Denver Law School.
A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Oliver lives in Arlington, Texas. She and
her husband have three children.
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