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Barbara Higgins is vice president-Customer Experience for United. She is based at the company's headquarters in Chicago.
Named to the position in January 2007, she leads the company’s initiative to differentiate United from its U.S. competitors by delivering a customer experience that rivals its top global peers. Higgins is responsible for both short-term initiatives and longer-term innovations to improve customer satisfaction. This includes all aspects of customers' interaction with United, from reservation and check-in, to the in-flight experience and baggage delivery. Her organization works closely with operational divisions to deliver the ultimate customer experience.
Higgins has spent her career building and leading global organizations that deliver exceptional guest service. Prior to assuming her current position, she was vice president of Operations Integration and Planning at Disneyland Resort Paris, where she was responsible for guest research, quality improvement, safety, industrial engineering, on-site communication, and project and labor management. Prior to that position, Higgins was the director of Operations Task Force for Hong Kong Disneyland, where she was responsible for recruiting, training and leading more than 300 expatriates from all lines of business through the preparations and opening of Disney’s first park in Asia. Higgins spent the first half of her career with the Walt Disney Company in operations at Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort Paris, and the latter half in executive roles leading strategy support and project management for hotel and theme park operations.
Higgins holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Florida and a bachelor's degree from Cornell University. She is an active member of the Cornell Hotel Society and has been a frequent speaker at the university. | 