Leadership Full Circle

Over 15 years ago, in December 2007, I stepped into my career here at American Airlines as a part-time Reservations Representative at SERO/RDU Reservations Center, supporting the AAdvantage International team. I’ve always enjoyed planes, but let’s be honest, I wanted to travel more. After being a part of the company for a few months, I pushed myself to showcase my skillset and leverage my background in IT by automating monthly repetitive tasks. This allowed me to invest more time in building relationships with leaders rather than solely taking calls. Because of this, my name was known and mentioned in rooms of opportunity. I recall one of my managers, Mary Fisher, asking me to apply for a chance to become a Reservations Manager Assist. When I asked Mary why she pushed me to apply, she replied that she “saw potential in me and fought to give me the opportunity.” My first Managing Director (MD), Kip Hamilton, allowed me to move forward because my positive attitude and ability to provide feedback while giving a solution to improve situations impressed her. The support of my first leaders was instrumental in jumpstarting my career at American.

As the years passed, I wanted to explore other opportunities outside the Reservations group. I had already learned about the business, from domestic reservations to our top-tier Concierge Key customers – but I aspired to learn and achieve more. I started applying for positions at our corporate headquarters, MIA and DFW. I remember having at least two interviews with the Director who became a MD, Jim Phoenix, but I wasn’t selected. Little did I know that building a relationship with Jim during the interview would come back full circle later in my career journey.

Next, I applied for the role of Customer Service Manager for Passenger Service and competed against applicants with experience working at the airport. Still, I kept in mind the encouraging words from my leaders pushing me to achieve. To my surprise, I received an offer. A few weeks later, I packed up and moved to Dallas to work at American’s largest hub, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). WOW, what an eye-opener that was; I went from interacting with customers over the phone to being in person with customers, watching them board the aircraft. I saw all the details from a plane arriving to a plane departing in a short window—the number of team members it took to turn a plane and get it back in the air. Once again, I had a fantastic leader named Dorothy who recognized my passion for IT. She affirmed my potential by pushing me again to get over to headquarters.

Remember I mentioned Jim Phoenix earlier? Well, building a relationship with him paid off. A project manager position opened in the Airport Technology organization that I wanted. The time I spent building my operational experience made me a potential candidate for this role. So, what did I do? I contacted the hiring manager, Sunita Warrier, got additional details about the position, and received a job offer. The role intersected my background in IT and passion for American Airlines. I’d been interested in technology for many years and finally had the chance to bring it all together.

I remember Sunita asking me why I took a break from IT and why I wanted to get back into IT now. I knew I was ready to return because I earned my graduate degree in Business, which equipped me to lead a team. This opportunity expanded my knowledge of the airline even more as I learned about the “baggage world” and delivered a tool built from the ground up for the ramp team members. My mix of IT and airport work experience was instrumental in creating a product that provided value to airport team members while being technically sound.

I moved on to lead a team of AA.com QA manual testers and QA automation engineers. Having a team hungry to learn and grow their skills made seeing their potential as a developer easy. Still, it was saddening when they moved into new squads. Nevertheless, like my leaders before me, I supported their growth and helped open doors for their career advancement. Seeing the team transform and individuals succeed in their new roles fulfilled me as a leader.

Today, I support a team of iOS, Android, and backend developers for the American Airlines customer mobile app. This role pushed me to grow and learn about the app world while supporting developers in their journey - I’ve learned the importance of fostering a culture of continuous improvement. By enabling developers to grow their skills and providing them with opportunities for training, we have built a high-performing team that consistently delivers high-quality features for our customers.

My experience as a technical IT delivery manager over the past six years has been challenging yet rewarding. It taught me the importance of effective communication, collaboration, continuous improvement, and the value of investing in my team.

Over the past 15 years, my career at American has progressed from working part-time on the frontline to managing my IT team. I am now the leader pouring into my team as the leaders in my early career once did for me. And I can only hope that in 15 years, my team members will continue the cycle and raise their own leaders.