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Spirit Airlines has named three new executives to its leadership team. Ted Botimer has been named the Senior Vice President of Network Planning and Revenue Management, Laurie David Villa is the new Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, and Eric Netland has been promoted to Vice President of Pricing and Revenue Management.
“Spirit is one of the fastest growing airlines in the industry and it’s important that we have strong leadership at our key senior positions as we grow,” said Spirit’s President and CEO, Ben Baldanza.
“We continue to build a leadership team that will allow Spirit to soar to new heights as a company while continuing to provide our customers with the lowest airfares and total price, our investors with excellent returns, and our team members with rewarding career opportunities. These three highly qualified individuals bring a diverse background of experiences from within and outside the traditional airline industry.” Added Baldanza.
Ted Botimer joined Spirit this week and will be responsible for the airline’s network planning and overall pricing and revenue management strategies. In this role he will focus on Spirit’s dynamic and evolving mix of new markets, successful fleet deployment, and overall management of the Company’s revenue. Ted comes to Spirit from XOJET. Prior to that he held leadership positions at Continental Airlines, America West Airlines, and Cendant Car Rental Group. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in general engineering, Bachelor of Arts degree in French commercial studies from the University of Illinois, and a Doctorate degree in Transportation Economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Laurie David Villa joined Spirit in October 2014. She brings more than 25 years in human resources and comes to Spirit after serving as SVP of Human Resources at Charter Schools USA. Previously she held senior leadership positions at Liberty Power, LexisNexis, Ann Taylor, and Sara Lee, where she started her career. She is a Florida native and earned both her Bachelor of Business Administration degree and her Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of North Florida. Laurie’s background and energy are a perfect fit for Spirit’s fast growing environment.
Eric Netland joined Spirit in 2006 and most recently served as Sr. Director of Revenue Management and Forecasting. In his eight years with Spirit Eric has proven to be an integral part of the Spirit team. In this new role Eric will lead all aspects of revenue management, forecasting, pricing and analytics to optimize the passenger revenue performance of the airline. Prior to Spirit, Eric worked in revenue management at US Airways and PROS. He earned his B.A. in Economics from Virginia Tech.
