David Neeleman
Who
The founder of JetBlue, David Neeleman has been a thorn in the side of every major airline over the past decade. Formerly the company's CEO, Neeleman stepped down in May 2007 and now serves as non-executive chairman.
Backstory
An observant Mormon who spent time doing missionary work in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Neeleman is an unlikely interloper in an industry full of hard-drinking, big-talking good ol' boys. The founder of three other successful airline businesses prior to JetBlue, Neeleman's first venture was Morris Air, a low-cost airline based in Salt Lake that was sold to Southwest for $129 million in the early 1990s. Neeleman went on to found Canada's WestJet, and also served as CEO of Open Skies, a trailblazer that helped usher in the era of electronic ticketing.
Of course, he's best known for founding JetBlue in 1999, marking the first "mega-startup" in airline history. (The company's first order was for 82 A320 jets.) Promising to bring the "humanity" back to air travel, JetBlue quickly gained momentum thanks to low fares, a friendlier image, and seatback satellite TV. (Neeleman says it was his ADD that made him insist on a satellite TV hookup at every seat.) JetBlue's success soon spawned a industry trend—Delta's Song and United's Ted, among others—and today the company flies to some 50 destinations in 21 states, offering more than 600 flights daily.
Of note
The airline's near-perfect reputation took a hit in February 2007 when ice storms wreaked havoc on the company and left passengers stuck on planes and in airport terminals for hours. Neeleman begged for forgiveness during the PR disaster, even turning up on the Late Show with David Letterman to issue a mea culpa. The public bruising led to Neeleman's departure in May 2007: He turned over the reins to his No. 2, David Barger, a Continental veteran with the sort of deep operational experience that Neeleman lacked. But the JetBlue founder hasn't severed ties with the airline completely—he remains the company's non-executive chairman—although most of his energy nowadays is directed toward getting his fourth airline start-up off the ground. Tentatively called AirBrazil, the airline will seek to corner the low-cost carrier market in the South American country, and is scheduled to begin offering domestic flights in 2009. Why Brazil? Neeleman was born there while his parents were on a Mormon mission, he has a Brazilian passport, he did his own mission work there, and he speaks Portuguese fluently.
Keeping score
Neeleman earned praise for taking a small salary as CEO—just $250,000 in 2006—much of which he ended up donating to an employee crisis fund. Of course, he could afford to forego the cash: He owned more than $100 million in company stock. Since stepping down, he's sold more than $25 million of his shares, but he remains the company's largest shareholder.
Personal
Neeleman and his wife Vicki have—count 'em—nine children, including seven daughters. He gets the kids together for Bible study in the evenings in their New Canaan home.
True story
As CEO, Neeleman developed a reputation for his hands-on approach. So hands on, in fact, he may have even served you a drink. Neeleman was known to occasionally check in passengers and even handle baggage. And when he flew on one of the company's flights, he occasionally went to the back of the plane to help with food service.
No joke
The name "JetBlue" wasn't Neeleman's first choice. Neeleman originally planned to paint the planes yellow and call the airline "Taxi." When his investors balked and threatened to pull out of the deal, he caved on the idea.
