United settles board battle; former Air Canada CE to be chairman

United Continental has resolved the proxy fight over the makeup of its board of directors by agreeing to make former Air Canada CE Robert Milton the non-executive chairman of the board. The company has also agreed to add 2 board members nominated by activist investors Altimeter Capital Management and PAR Capital Management, hedge funds that together own 7.1% of United. In March, Altimeter and PAR had announced their intention to nominate a slate of 6 board members, including former Continental CE Gordon Bethune, sparking a public dispute over the makeup of United’s board. United CE Oscar Munoz, whose contract with the company had specified that he would also become chairman of United’s board in 2017, has agreed to amend his contract so that he won’t assume the chairman’s role until 2018. <br/>