At Southwest, Mr. Forkner has worked on regulatory and MAX issues, people familiar with the airline said, sometimes shaping discussions between the FAA and Southwest’s management. The Southwest spokeswoman said Mr. Forkner has worked on various projects as part of the flight operations technical team
So he is/was a bit more than a simple F/O as reported before.
but hasn’t worked as a leader on the airline’s plans to return the MAX to passenger service.
So not a leader but probably in the team. SWA must certainly be very interested by his knowledge..