Cowen Partners Breaks Down Southwest Airlines’ CFO Shift in CFO Dive
The “unprecedented” layoffs of senior and corporate leaders come as Breeze Airways alum Tom Doxey gears up to take Southwest’s CFO seat.
Southwest Airlines has announced the appointment of Tom Doxey as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective March 10, 2025. Doxey, an industry veteran, previously served as the president of Breeze Airways and has held financial planning and fleet management roles at Allegiant Air and US Airways. He succeeds Tammy Romo, who is retiring after over three decades with Southwest.
In a recent article, CFO Dive discussed this leadership change with Shawn Cole, president of executive search firm Cowen Partners. Cole suggested that hiring an external candidate like Doxey could signal further long-term changes at Southwest, especially as the airline aims to achieve $500 million in cost savings amid inflationary pressures and fleet capacity challenges.
This leadership transition comes at a pivotal time for Southwest. The airline recently announced plans to cut 15% of its corporate workforce, approximately 1,750 jobs, in its first-ever mass layoff. This move aims to create a leaner and more agile organization, with expected savings of $210 million this year and $300 million next year.
Additionally, Southwest has been under pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, leading to significant restructuring, including changes to its open seating policy and the addition of new board members.
The appointment of Doxey as CFO, combined with these strategic initiatives, indicates Southwest’s commitment to evolving its operations and financial strategies in response to current industry challenges.
The airline’s move to tap an outside hire as CFO could indicate further long-term change in Southwest’s future, Shawn Cole, president of executive search firm Cowen Partners, told CFO Dive.
“Bringing in an external CFO allows leadership to push tough cost-cutting decisions, while saving face for the CEO,” with the newly-hired leader possibly serving as the “bad guy” in the face of such decisions, Cole said in an email. “In my experience, this also opens the door to more outside hires. It starts with one, signaling a broader shift in strategy. Leadership and the board likely have more tough choices ahead.”
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About Cowen Partners Executive Search
SCowen Partners Executive Search is a leading national executive search firm, known for placing world-class C-suite leaders, board members, and senior executives across industries. Specializing in finding and recruiting top talent, we provide clients with comprehensive access to the executive marketplace, ensuring that each search is tailored to the unique needs of the organization. Our clients benefit from a proven track record of delivering high-impact leaders who drive growth, innovation, and performance.
At Cowen Partners, we go beyond traditional executive search by offering strategic insights and expertise that help companies build high-performing teams and navigate complex market challenges. Whether it’s sourcing transformative CEOs, CFOs, or board directors, we are committed to excellence, transparency, and results-driven solutions, making us the trusted partner for businesses looking to thrive in today’s competitive landscape.
About Shawn Cole, President & Cofounder
Shawn Cole is a serial entrepreneur and executive leader with over 15 years’ experience founding and running successful companies. Shawn’s business career has been centered on value creation for both turnarounds and startups.
Shawn is President and Co-Founder of Cowen Partners, a national CFO executive search firm focused on the key elements of a successful business: sales, marketing, and finance. Business clients across the country trust Cowen Partners to take their companies to the next level by finding them executive talent, such as a CEO, CFO, COO, Chief Revenue Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer. Clients are both small and large, publicly traded, pre-IPO, private, and non-profit organizations, typically $50 million to multi-billion dollar revenue Fortune 1000 companies or have assets between $1 billion and $15 billion.
An active participant in the business community and startup space, Shawn Co-Chairs The Cowen Partners Venture Fund which provides seed funding and early stage investments, focusing on market disruptors in niche markets, community businesses, and minority entrepreneurs.
Shawn attended Oregon State University’s College of Business Austin Entrepreneurship Program and participated in a first-of-its-kind experiential entrepreneurship experiment at Weatherford Hall. He was also a Founding Member and President of Oregon State University’s Students in Free Enterprise, an international non-profit organization working with university students who want to positively change their communities and learn practical knowledge to become socially responsible business leaders.
At the age of 16 Shawn became a volunteer firefighter and EMT, eventually founding and managing a half marathon to raise funds for the community. To date, the marathon is still a success and has raised over one million dollars benefiting the community.
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