Southwest Appoints Former JCPenney Exec as New VP

Southwest Airlines has named Tom Nealon, a former vice president at JC Penney Co., as the company’s first-ever executive vice president of strategy and innovation.

Nealon, who was Southwest’s chief information officer from 2002 to 2006, returns after spending five years working on JCPenney’s information technology, retail website, and corporate strategy and planning. He also spent time as the chief information officer at Frito-Lay.

Southwest is in the midst of a major expansion that includes opening a new international terminal at Houston’s Hobby Airport.