Jim Olson
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications

Jim Olson is senior vice president of corporate communications for United, overseeing the airline’s worldwide corporate communications, including public relations, employee engagement and creative services. He brings to this role three decades of world class consumer brand and airline sector communications leadership and innovation.

Previously Jim served as vice president of global corporate communications at Starbucks Coffee Company, Fortune's 5th Most Admired Company, where he led the company's reputation-elevating corporate news agenda and brand protection capability. Additionally, he architected Starbucks' next-generation digital news and employee storytelling platform, as well as orchestrated public affairs for the company's Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions.

Prior to Starbucks, he was vice president of corporate communications at US Airways where he led the airline's internal, external and crisis communications functions, which included managing the response to the 2009 Hudson River emergency water landing of Flight 1549. He spent most of the first decade of his career in the automotive industry, including seven years as a strategic communications and digital media consultant to Nissan North America.

Jim earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Syracuse University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California. He has also served as a long-time board member of The LAGRANT Foundation, which is devoted to achieving greater diversity in the marketing and communications fields.

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