United Airlines has a new president and chief executive officer, following the ousting of their previous CEO due to a government probe. 

Effective immediately Oscar Muñoz, who recently served as president and chief operating officer for the transportation company CSX Corporation, is in, and former chairman and president Jeff Smisek, who is under federal investigation, is out.

A release from United Continental Holdings Inc. reports the new CEO will continue to serve on at United’s board of directors.

Muñoz comes to his new title with a background working in the transportation as well as consumer industries. His résumé includes such brand names as AT&T, PepsiCo and the Coca-Cola Company.

Henry Meyer, a non-executive chairman of the board of directors at United, has remarked on Muñoz’s qualities, saying, “Oscar’s track record demonstrates that he has the right blend of strategic vision and strong leadership to continue United’s upward trajectory.”

“It is truly a privilege to serve as United’s CEO. United has an incredible opportunity for improving an experience that is essential to the vitality of global business and to the personal lives of millions of people, for innovation, and for earnings growth,” Muñoz said.

“In my years serving on the board, I have been impressed by the dedication and skill of my new coworkers. Together, we will make United the top-performing airline.”

In a commentary piece in Forbes regarding the change of power at United, George Bradt noted that Muñoz has come into his CEO role with a heavy set of challenges before him.

“He’s under fire from the press about the scandal that forced his predecessor to resign, from shareholders unhappy about investment lagging rivals’ and from passengers upset about service outages,” Bradt wrote.

Beyond this, he noted Muñoz is switching industries and has never been a CEO before.

Earlier this year United disclosed that they had received subpoenas from a federal grand jury for information concerning their dealings with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

With such bad press before him, the columnist advised Muñoz to 1.) get control of the conversation, 2.) align his team around a new direction and 3.) manage implementation.

“This is not going to be a short-term fix. It’s going to take a lot of work to improve the experience, innovate and grow earnings,” Bradt wrote.

Muñoz, a California native, has been hailed among the '100 Most Influential Hispanics' by Hispanic Business magazine.