Whitney Eichinger

Senior Vice President & Chief Communications Officer

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Whitney leads Culture, Communications, and Employee Engagement at Southwest Airlines through a collection of Teams unified in delivering transparent and creative communications, partnering with the communities the airline serves, and supporting a highly engaged workforce that is well recognized for celebrating and delivering world-class Southwest Hospitality. Whitney's passion for the iconic Culture of Southwest Airlines first propelled her to Vice President, Culture and Engagement where, along with a focused effort to keep the Culture strong, she led strategy and delivery of Employees' Southwest Experience through curated Employee Insights and thoughtful Change Leadership. Prior to this role, she led the airline’s Public Relations Team directing media relations, events, and issues management.

Over the span of more than two decades, Whitney has built strong relationships with peers inside and outside the airline industry. She is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, which is the world's leading professional association for senior public relations and corporate communications executives and educators. She also serves on the College of Charleston Communications Council which fosters collaboration between leaders of Fortune 500 Companies and those studying Communication, as she did in achieving a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Outside of Southwest, Whitney previously led Communications at Detroit-based Rock Ventures and Bedrock, a commercial real estate investment firm owned by Dan Gilbert, Founder and Chairman of Quicken Loans and Chairman of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Through the storytelling of the more than 100 businesses that comprise Gilbert's Rock family of companies, Whitney's team championed the success stories of a Detroit renaissance. Prior to that role, Whitney served at Ford Motor Co. focusing on financial, investor, and legal communications

While her professional passion is the world of communication, her love for animal welfare runs deep. She serves as Vice Chair on the Board of Directors for the SPCA of Texas and is a past chair of Fur Ball and Strut Your Mutt and hopes to be a pet foster one day!

Along with their dog, Chief, Whitney, her husband, Erik, and their son Owen, live in North Texas. She fills any spare time with traveling the globe, listening to podcasts, and scouring The New York Times cooking app for new recipes.