Officer Biographies
Gary C. Kelly
Chairman of the Board, President &
Chief Executive Officer
Gary Kelly serves as the Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer at Southwest Airlines. A 23-year Southwest veteran who became CFO in 1989, Gary has worked closely with Southwest’s legendary Cofounder and Chairman Emeritus Herb Kelleher and President Emeritus Colleen Barrett to build the nation’s fifth-largest airline—and the undisputed Low-Fare Leader.
Gary began his career at Southwest Airlines as Controller, moving up to Chief Financial Officer and Vice President Finance, then Executive Vice President and CFO, before being promoted to CEO and Vice Chairman in July 2004. Gary assumed the role of Chairman in May 2008 and President in July 2008. Prior to joining Southwest Airlines in 1986, Gary was a CPA for Arthur Young & Company in Dallas and Controller for Systems Center, Inc.
Southwest Airlines is celebrating 37 years of consecutive profitability and was named #1 in Customer Satisfaction by the Department of Transportation for the year 2008. For the 13th year in a row, Fortune magazine listed Southwest Airlines among America’s most admired corporations. Gary has received awards and recognitions, including being named one of Business Travel News’ 25 Most Influential Executives of 2004; named a finalist for Texan of the Year by the Dallas Morning News editors for the year 2005; honored with the 4th Annual Friends of Texas Public Schools Friend of the Year Award for 2008; named one of the best CEOs in America for 2008 and 2009 by Institutional Investor magazine; and most recently voted Dallas CEO of the Year by both the Dallas Morning News’ “Top 100 Places to Work” and D CEO magazine.
Gary received a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and is a Certified Public Accountant. He is a member of the Texas Society of CPAs; serves on the McCombs School Accounting Advisory Board and Advisory Council at the University of Texas at Austin; serves on the board of the Dallas Citizens Council; and was most recently named to the Lincoln National Corporation’s Board of Directors.
