Early life

He was born in Hampton, Virginia

Hampton, Virginia

Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...

 and spent much of his life in Texas. Horton has a BBA degree, magna cum laude, from Baylor University

Baylor University

Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...

 and an MBA degree from the Cox School of Business

Cox School of Business

The Cox School of Business is a business school at Southern Methodist University offering a full range of business education programs.Degrees include , full-time Master of Business Administration , , , Master of Science in Management , Master of Science in Accounting , and a Master of Science in...

 at Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...

 in 1985.

AT&T

Following an early career at American he joined AT&T in 2002 as Chief Financial Officer and became Vice Chairman.

American Airlines

Horton first started with AMR in 1985 as a financial analyst. He rose to Vice President (starting in 1998) and Controller (starting in 2000). He left in 2002 to join AT&T but returned in in July 2006 when he was named Executive Vice President — Finance and Planning and Chief Financial Officer of AMR and American.

In July 2010 he was named president of the airline.

On November 29, 2011, he was named to succeed Gerard Arpey

Gerard Arpey

Gerard J. Arpey is the former Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of AMR Corporation, parent company to American Airlines.-Career:...

 as CEO. The announcement was the same day as American declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code

Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...

. American listed $30 billion in debts and $25 billion in assets with $4 billion in cash reserves. Horton noted in the bankruptcy announcement that American was paying $800 million/year more in labor costs that its major competitors. Negotiations between the airline and its labor unions had stalled.