| David G. Neeleman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 16, 1959 São Paulo, Brazil |
| Occupation | CEO Azul Airlines Brazil, Founder & former chairman, JetBlue Airways |
| Religion | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
| Spouse | Vicki Neeleman |
David G. Neeleman (born October 16, 1959) is the founder and former CEO of JetBlue Airways and also founder of Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras.
Biography
Neeleman was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and raised in the United States, to a family of Dutch and North American descent. He lived in Brazil until he was five.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.
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 donated his entire salary to the JetBlue Crewmember Crisis Fund, which was established for JetBlue employees who fall on hard times.
On May 10, 2007, David Neeleman was replaced by David Barger as CEO of JetBlue and on May 21, 2008 he was replaced as chairman of the board by Joel Peterson.
On March 27, 2008 Neeleman officially announced plans to launch a new airline, Azul (Portuguese for "blue"), a domestic carrier in Brazil. Neeleman asked to step down as the chairman of the board from JetBlue Airways to spend time starting this new venture, which he did in 2009.
Personal
Neeleman lives with his wife Vicki in New Canaan, Connecticut, United States. They are the parents of nine children. In 2000, he disclosed to CNN that he has adult attention-deficit disorder.
He is the 2005 recipient of the Tony Jannus Award fonnoutstanding leadership in the commercial aviation industry.
He speaks fluent Portuguese and holds both U.S. and Brazilian citizenship.
(source:wikipedia)
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