Herb kelleher employees first
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Herb Kelleher
American airline businessman (1931–2019)
Herbert David Kelleher (March 12, 1931 – January 3, 2019) was an American billionaire airline businessman and lawyer. He was the co-founder, later CEO, and chairman emeritus of Southwest Airlines until his death in 2019.[1]
Early life
[edit]Kelleher was born in Camden, New Jersey, on March 12, 1931, and raised in Audubon, New Jersey, where he graduated from Haddon Heights High School.[2] He earned a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University where he was an Olin Scholar and where his major was English and his minor philosophy, and a Juris Doctor (cum laude) from New York University School of Law where he was a Root-Tilden Scholar.[3][4]
Career
[edit]After clerking for a New Jersey Supreme Court justice, Kelleher moved to Texas intending to start a law firm or a business. He was a partner in Oppenheimer, Rosenberg, Kelleher & Wheatley, 1969–1981. Kelleher and one of his la
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Herb Kelleher
Maverick, Friend, and Founder of Southwest Airlines
1931-2019
There is one thing that has defined Southwest as a Company since day one: Heart. There is no doubt that Herb was at the center of that Heart, filling it with his friendly management style, love of parties, and publicity stunts. By creating a fun and rewarding workplace, Herb was largely responsible for Southwest’s myriad of awards and recognitions; Fortune magazine named Southwest the Best Place to Work in America in 1998. His love for business was as big as his love for life.Herb led Southwest Airlines, first as the Company’s Cofounder and legal counsel from 1966 to 1982, then as President, CEO, and Chairman from 1982 to 2001. During his tenure, Herb Kelleher produced the highest return to shareholders of any company in the S&P 500. In 2001, at the age of 70, Kelleher retired from his positions as President and CEO, and continued to serve as Chairman until 2008. Herb will always b
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The values and brilliance of the legendary co-founder of Southwest Airlines are so appealing that they nearly jump off the page in an interview from 2002. Kelleher passed away at the age of 87 on Jan. 3, 2019.
Interview by J.B. Bird
When Herb Kelleher, the legendary chairman, co-founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines, first agreed to sit down for an interview in 2001, he had just announced plans to scale back his duties. After successfully battling prostate cancer and seeing his company through its 28th consecutive year of profitability (a feat completely unprecedented in the airline industry), Kelleher planned to “throttle down” on October 1, 2001.
As he tells it, October 1 and reducing his hours never came.
“After September 11, it was an emergency situation where everybody was supposed to pitch in,” said Kelleher. “It was an unprecedented crisis in the airline industry, and survival literally was at stake.”
Southwest not only survived, it thrived. At the request of ne