United Continental Holdings has named Jane Garvey as board chairman, the first female to hold the position.
Garvey has served on United’s board since 2009 and was the first woman to lead the FAA.
She was FAA Administrator from 1997 to 2002, and led the industry through the 9/11 attacks.
She replaces outgoing chairman Robert Milton.
Garvey is North America chairman of investment firm Meridiam.
"Jane steps into this critical role bringing with her decades of experience as both a leader and pioneer in our industry," United CEO Munoz said in a statement.
"I look forward to continuing to work with her and our fellow directors to build the best airline for our customers, employees and everyone we serve."
The chairman role was originally earmarked for Munoz but the board decided to completely split the chief executive and board chairman roles following the highly damaging David Dao dragging incident.
