Gary C. Kelly Biography – Gary C. Kelly Wiki
Gary C. Kelly (Gary Clayton Kelly) is an American business executive. He is the chief executive officer and chairman at Southwest Airlines. On June 23, 2021, he announced he would renounce his role as CEO in February 2022, with Bob Jordan announced to take his place at that time. However, he will remain as Executive Chairman of the board until at least 2026.
Before he went to work at Southwest, he was an Audit Manager for Arthur Young & Co. and a controller for Sterling Software. He first joined Southwest Airlines in 1986 as a controller. In 1989, Kelly. He got a promotion to be the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance in 1989. In 2001, he was promoted to Executive Vice President. He spent 3 years in this role until he was promoted to his position as CEO and vice chairman in 2004 replacing James Parker who succeeded Herb Kelleher in 2001. He was named Chairman of the Board of Directors of Southwest Airlines on May 21, 2008, replacing co-founder Herb Kelleher. Additionally, he became president of Southwest Airlines the same year, replacing Colleen Barrett when her contract expired on July 15, 2008.
As CEO, he has guided the airline to become the largest carrier of domestic passengers in the United States. He has led the company through a number of transformative, large-scale initiatives including the revamp of the airline’s Rapid Rewards program, the introduction of the Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX aircraft to Southwest’s fleet, the acquisition of AirTran Airways, the launching of Southwest’s first international service, an update to the airline’s branding, the adoption of the Amadeus reservation system, and large expansion projects at the company’s corporate headquarters in Dallas.
On January 10, 2017, he made public of changes to the Company’s executive Leadership ranks with Thomas M. Nealon named as President and Michael G. Van de Ven named as the airline’s Chief Operating Officer. These changes were effective immediately. He retained the title of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. After agreeing to take a salary cut to prevent employee furloughs, his base salary reduced to zero until the end of 2021.
On February 18, 2020, he was named as the recipient of the 2020 Philanthropic Leadership Award from The Ireland Funds. In 2017, Fortune named Kelly the #3 most underrated CEO in America (after Satya Nadella and Jeff Bezos) based on a survey of Fortune 500 CEOs asking them which of their fellow CEOs do not get enough credit. Kelly received 85 votes. He was the 2016 recipient of the Tony Jannus Award for distinguished achievement in commercial air transportation. In 2014, he received the Advertising Innovation and Marketing Excellence (AIME) Award. He was named one of the best CEOs in America for 2008, 2009, and 2010 by Institutional Investor magazine and serves on the President’s Council of Jobs and Competitiveness. Kelly received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
Gary C. Kelly Age
He was born on March 12, 1955 in San Antonio, United States.
Gary C. Kelly Wife
He is married to his wife Carol. The first time he met his wife was in eighth grade. They later got married in 1976. Together, they have two daughters.
Gary C. Kelly Children
He is a father of two daughters, Caroline and Elizabeth.
Gary C. Kelly Net Worth
Gary C. Kelly has an estimated net worth of $29.6 Million (2019).
