internal
Robert D. Isom
Chief Executive Officer & President
Executive
4 yr
10 reports
American Airlines Group Inc. ·AAL
COO-led operations dominate a tightly centralized functional airline
Transportation · Fortune #76 · Functional structure · 132K employees · Fort Worth, TX
View as of:
5
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 10)
2.6
Avg span
moderate
3
Max depth
flat for 132K emp
3.6 yr
Avg tenure
stable vs FY2025
80%
Internal hires
↑ above industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2025 · period end 2025-12-31 · 10-K
Revenue
$54.6B
Operating income
$1.5B
Net income
$111M
Total assets
$61.8B
Shares out
660M
Sourced from American Airlines Group Inc. DEF 14A · filed 2026-04-28 ↗ View on SEC
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American Airlines Group Inc. organizational chart
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COO-led operations dominate American Airlines’ functional structure, with most execution power centralized under a single operations chief. This page maps the executive org, analyzes reporting depth and span, tracks leadership changes, and compares American’s structure with other major U.S. airlines.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Latest signal Mary N. Dillon joined as Director
Elected to Board on March 24, 2026.
Source · See change logScenario views in the chart
- Add Chief Commercial Officer Introduce a CCO reporting to the CEO to rebalance power from operations toward revenue and customer strategy.
- Move Strategy Under COO Shift strategy and network planning under the COO to further centralize execution and planning.
Atlas work this supports
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The people
Who's running this
5 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.
internal
David G. Seymour
Chief Operating Officer
Operations
4 yr
3 reports
internal
Devon E. May
Chief Financial Officer
Finance
4 yr
2 reports
internal
Stephen L. Johnson
Vice Chair & Chief Strategy Officer
Strategy
4 yr
0 reports
Anthony J. Richmond
Chief Legal Officer & EVP, Corporate Affairs
Legal
1 yr
1 reports
The pay
Executive compensation
From the most recent DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. 1 named executive officers disclosed. Bar length scales with total compensation.
Robert D. Isom $13.9M
- Base salary
- $1.30M
- Stock awards
- $12.49M
- Other
- $83K
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
The skin in the game
Beneficial ownership
Insider stock holdings and the company's ownership requirements for executives and directors. Disclosed in the most recent DEF 14A.
Stock ownership requirements
Stock ownership guidelines disclosed but specific multiples not detailed in excerpt.
The businesses
How American Airlines Group Inc. divides the work
4 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.
Operations
90K employees
Chief Operating Officer (David G. Seymour)
Oversees flight operations, maintenance, network planning, and day-to-day airline execution.
Finance
4K employees
Chief Financial Officer (Devon E. May)
Manages capital structure, liquidity, planning, accounting, and investor reporting.
Strategy
1K employees
Vice Chair & Chief Strategy Officer (Stephen L. Johnson)
Leads corporate strategy, network economics, and long-term planning.
Legal & Corporate Affairs
800 employees
Chief Legal Officer (Anthony J. Richmond)
Handles legal, regulatory, government affairs, and corporate communications.
The thesis
Why this org is unusual
American Airlines is structurally distinctive for how much operational authority is concentrated under a single COO.
David Seymour oversees flight operations, technical operations, and network planning, giving the operations function disproportionate weight versus commercial or product-led structures. This reflects the airline’s post-pandemic focus on reliability, safety, and cost discipline rather than decentralized P&L ownership.
The CEO’s span is relatively narrow, with five direct reports, but depth under the COO is where complexity accumulates. Finance and Legal remain classic functional cost centers without segment P&Ls, reinforcing the airline’s centralized decision-making. The absence of a standalone Chief Commercial Officer further emphasizes operations-first control.
- COO controls most operational levers
- No standalone Chief Commercial Officer
- Functional structure with centralized decision-making
The comparison
How American Airlines Group Inc. stacks up
Compared with Delta and United, American’s structure is more operationally centralized. Delta balances operations with a strong commercial and customer organization, while United maintains clearer product and revenue leadership. American’s lack of a CCO and heavy COO span aligns it more with a cost-recovery and …
C-suite size
Reporting depth
American Airlines Group Inc.
3 levels
4 levels
5 levels
3 levels
4 levels
Avg C-suite tenure
American Airlines Group Inc.
4 yr
6 yr
5 yr
6 yr
Has COO / Has CAIO
American Airlines Group Inc. ✓ COO — no CAIO
Current signals
What changed recently
The most significant recent change was the 2025 appointment of Anthony Richmond as Chief Legal Officer, strengthening external affairs leadership.
- new
- Date not confirmed new
Leadership Timeline
Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.
FY2026
DEF 14A filed 2026-04-28
- CEO
- Robert D. Isom
- CEO span
- 5
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 3.6 yr
Operations-heavy leadership with strong COO span.
Named executive officers (5)
- Robert D. Isom - CEO since 2022
- Stephen L. Johnson - Vice Chair & CSO since 2022
- David G. Seymour - COO since 2022
- Devon E. May - CFO since 2022
- Anthony J. Richmond - CLO since 2025
FY2025
DEF 14A filed 2025-04-28
- CEO
- Robert D. Isom
- CEO span
- 6
- C-suite
- 6
- Avg tenure
- 4.1 yr
Included standalone commercial leadership later removed.
Named executive officers (6)
- Robert D. Isom - CEO since 2022
- Stephen L. Johnson - Vice Chair & CSO since 2022
- David G. Seymour - COO since 2022
- Devon E. May - CFO since 2022
- Priya Aiyar - Chief Legal Officer since 2020
- Vasu Raja - Chief Commercial Officer since 2020
Year-over-year changes
American simplified its C-suite, removing commercial leadership and appointing a new CLO.
- CEO span: 6 → 5
- C-suite size: 6 → 5
- Avg tenure: 4.1 → 3.6 yr
- departed Priya Aiyar - Chief Legal Officer (was CLO) (DEF 14A Apr 2026)
- new Anthony J. Richmond - Chief Legal Officer (DEF 14A Apr 2026)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of American Airlines Group?
Robert D. Isom has served as CEO and President since 2022.
What type of organizational structure does American Airlines Group use?
American Airlines operates a centralized functional structure.
How many direct reports does American Airlines Group's CEO have?
The CEO has five direct executive reports.
How has American Airlines Group's leadership changed recently?
Recent changes include the appointment of a new Chief Legal Officer in 2025 and a new independent director in 2026.
Does American Airlines Group have a COO?
Yes. David G. Seymour serves as Chief Operating Officer with broad operational control.
Sources
- Form 8-K, Mar 24 2026
- Company Proxy Statement, Apr 2026
- SEC EDGAR: American Airlines Group Inc. DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- SEC EDGAR: American Airlines Group Inc. 10-K Annual Report
Reference
Cite this page
If you reference this page in research, analysis, or news writing, use one of the formats below. Citation includes the SEC filing source where applicable.
APA 7th
Creately. (2026). American Airlines Group Inc. organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/american-airlines/MLA 9th
"American Airlines Group Inc. Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/american-airlines/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "American Airlines Group Inc. Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/american-airlines/.Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
American Airlines Group Inc.. DEF 14A. Filed 2026-04-28. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/6201/000119312526187096/d83928ddef14a.htmPermanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/american-airlines/ · last updated 2026-04-01