David Neeleman
David G. Neeleman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 16, 1959 |
| Occupation(s) | Founder & Chairman, JetBlue Airways [1] |
| Spouse | Vicki Neeleman |
David G. Neeleman (born October 16, 1959) is the founder and former CEO of JetBlue Airways.
Neeleman, an American of Dutch descent, was born in São Paulo, Brazil.[2] He attended Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, and attended the University of Utah for three years before dropping out. He served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[3]
He co-founded (with June Morris) Morris Air, a low-fare charter airline, and from 1984 to 1988, he was Executive Vice President of the company. In 1988 Neeleman assumed the helm of Morris Air as its president. Then when Morris Air was acquired by Southwest Airlines for $130 million in 1993, he worked for a short time on their Executive Planning Committee.
After leaving Southwest, Neeleman became the CEO of Open Skies, a touch screen airline reservation and check-in systems company, later acquired by HP in 1999. At the same time, he helped with another upstart airline, Westjet.
As the CEO of JetBlue Airways, his 2002 salary was $200,000 with a bonus of $90,000. Neeleman donates his entire salary to a catastrophe fund, which has been established for JetBlue employees who fall on hard times.[citation needed]
On May 10, 2007, David Neeleman was replaced by Dave Barger as CEO of JetBlue; however, he still retains his position as non-executive Chairman of the Board.[4]
On March 27, 2008 Neeleman officially announced plans to launch a new airline, Azul (Portuguese for "blue"), a domestic carrier in Brazil. The venture is currently named AirBrazil, but a contest has started to officially name the airline with the winner receiving a free pair of lifetime tickets. Neeleman has asked to step down as the Chairman of the Board from JetBlue Airways to spend time starting this new venture. He is currently looking for a CEO to run the airline and plans on opening a flight school. Currently, Neeleman plans on flying exclusively Embraer 195 jets but has yet to decide on the level of amenities and service which will be offered onboard.[5]
Personal
Neeleman lives with his wife Vicki in Lowell, Massachusetts. They are the parents of nine children.[6] In 2000, he disclosed to CNN that he has Adult attention-deficit disorder.[7]
He is the 2005 recipient of the Tony Jannus Award for outstanding leadership in the commercial aviation industry.[8]
Notes
- ^ JetBlue | About JetBlue | Chairman David Neeleman's flight log
- ^ NNDB.com,
- ^ Home Sourcing the Blue Way
- ^ JetBlue Air Names Barger to Succeed Neeleman as Chief
- ^ Next for David Neeleman: JetBrazil?
- ^ "TBR Board of Directors: David Neeleman, Chief Executive Officer, JetBlue Airways". Travel Business Roundtable. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
- ^ http://www.integris-health.com/newsletter/spring2006/story6.html
- ^ "Tony Jannus Award past recipients". Tony Jannus Society. Retrieved 2008-03-29.