Diversified Search's Biggins Appointed to Southwest Airlines Board of Directors
Philadelphia, Pa. - The Southwest Airlines Board of Directors has appointed J. Veronica Biggins, a Managing Director of Diversified Search (Diversified), one of the top ten executive search firms in the U.S., to its Board. Previously Biggins was a member of the Board of Directors for AirTran Holdings, Inc., parent company of AirTran Airways, which was acquired by Southwest Airlines in a deal that was completed in May 2011.
Biggins is head of the Board practice for Diversified, which is recognized for delivering high quality consultative senior-level executive search services and corporate Board searches. Previously, she was Managing Partner of the Atlanta office of Hodge Partners, and before that, Biggins was with Heidrick & Struggles.
Biggins also served as Assistant to the President of the United States and Director of Presidential Personnel under President Bill Clinton. In that capacity, she was responsible for directing the recruitment, nomination, and appointment process for all political appointees within the federal government, including the placement of agency heads, ambassadors and members of presidential boards and commissions.
Biggins earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Spelman College and a Masters of Education degree from Georgia State University. She also completed Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative class in 2010. Her background includes 20 years’ experience with NationsBank (now Bank of America) and its predecessor, The Citizens and Southern National Bank. Prior to joining the White House, she was one of the highest ranking females in the banking industry, serving as Executive Vice President for Corporate Community Relations.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Avnet, Inc., and Zep Inc., and has formerly served on several boards, including AirTran Holdings, NDC Health, Cameron Ashley, Morrison’s Corporation, and the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. In the Atlanta community, she serves as a Board member for the East Lake Foundation; on the Atlanta Advisory Board for the Savannah College of Art and Design; on the Board of Trustees for the Woodruff Arts Center; and as a member of the Atlanta Rotary Club.
Biggins served as Vice Chairman of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. She’s been recognized by many organizations for her leadership, including being named to Ebony’s List of 100 Best and Brightest Black Women and Georgia Trend magazine’s list of the 100 most influential Georgians. She also received a Points of Light Award from President George W. Bush for her leadership of the Czech Slovak American Enterprise Fund.
Diversified, headquartered in Philadelphia, also has US offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C., and worldwide in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and the Americas. Diversified recently became the exclusive U.S. partner of AltoPartners, the international alliance of independent search firms with offices in 27 countries worldwide.
For more information, go to www.diversifiedsearch.com
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