JetBlue’s current Head of Treasury and Investor Relations, Ursula Hurley, has been appointed as the airline’s acting Chief Financial Officer. She will succeed Steve Priest, who has decided to leave JetBlue to pursue a new opportunity effective June 11, 2021.
On Monday (May 17, 2021), JetBlue announced that Ursula Hurley will succeed Steve Priest as the company’s acting Chief Financial Officer effective July 12, 2021. Ursula Hurley currently serves as JetBlue’s Head of Treasury and Investor Relations. Ms. Hurley joined JetBlue 17 years ago and has been responsible for debt and cash management, cash flow, fuel and interest rate hedging, strategic sourcing, fleet strategy (including aircraft and engine sourcing) and investor relations.
In Monday’s announcement, JetBlue’s Chief Executive Officer, Robin Hayes, said,
“Steve has been instrumental in helping lead JetBlue through the pandemic, and he leaves JetBlue in a place where the company is well positioned to continue our recovery and to emerge stronger than before. Prior to the pandemic, Steve led a successful company-wide effort to reset our cost structure, setting up JetBlue for long-term success. We are incredibly grateful for his leadership and contributions to JetBlue and wish him the best in his next adventure. We will always think of him as a member of the JetBlue family.
“One of Steve’s greatest accomplishments was building a world-class finance team and we are fortunate that Ursula, one of our strongest leaders, will succeed Steve in leading JetBlue during this transition. She began her career at JetBlue and worked directly with Steve over the past three years to lead cross-functional efforts such as the evolution of our fleet, our structural cost program, and strategic sourcing initiatives. Her work helped position JetBlue with one of the industry’s strongest balance sheets going into the pandemic. Over the past year, she successfully led our efforts to preserve our liquidity position, and is the perfect leader to support this transition as we begin to repair our balance sheet and return on a path towards industry-leading margins.”
Commenting on his pending departure, JetBlue’s current Chief Financial Officer, Steve Priest added,
“It has been a privilege to work alongside such an exceptional and passionate team for the past six years, and the decision to leave was one of the most difficult I have ever made. I could not be prouder of our finance team and, in fact, of all our crewmembers who accomplished so much over this unprecedented year and, prior to that, pulled together to deliver a cost-conscious culture while maintaining our strong and trusted brand. Ursula has been central to these efforts, and I am confident in her ability to support JetBlue as the airline emerges from the pandemic and regains momentum.”
JetBlue is New York’s Hometown Airline® and a leading carrier in Boston (BOS), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Los Angeles (LAX), Orlando (MCO) and San Juan (SJU). The airline carries guests to destinations across the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America. JetBlue Airways Corporation trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol JBLU.
Source: JetBlue