Continental Airlines

11 Pages 2779 Words

new management” sign in the window of a restaurant. It was a start, as well as a testament to his style of management and to the culture he longed to see at Continental. Bethune spent the next ten days holed up with Greg Brenneman, then a consultant for Continental and now the President and Chief Operating Officer, to come up with a plan to present at the board meeting. Greg’s background was in turning companies around and Gordon quickly recognized his talents in doing just that and wanted his partnership in this turnaround attempt. What an “attempt” this would be. For this board meeting, Gordon and Greg had ten days to not only make the usual financial and operations presentations but to design a plan that would completely change the direction of a $6 billion corporation. What Continental Airlines was about to undergo was a monumental change, one which would dismay and delight the critics, the customers, and the employees. For Gordon and Greg, manipulating the numbers was the easy part, changing the hearts and minds of employees who ha...