United Airlines beefs up board, adds new member

United Continental said Thursday that Michele Hooper had been elected to its board of directors, as the group aims to beef up its financial expertise and add diversity to its ranks. Hooper, whose 25 years of corporate board experience includes more than 20 years on the audit committees of several public companies, joins as the 16th board member of United Continental. Hooper "is a highly regarded business leader with expertise in areas that are important to our success, including operations strategy and finance," United CE Oscar Munoz said. Hooper's addition to the boardroom comes as the carrier seeks to improve its lagging operational and financial performance. Hooper is CE of The Directors' Council consultation group, which specialises in corporate governance issues. <br/>