Herb Kelleher
1931 - 2019

Early disruptor of the airline industry and the world’s most popular CEO.

RANKED THINKER

Ranked #49 in 2001.

FAST FACT

Repeatedly voted best CEO in the airline industry.

FAST FACT

Southwest Airlines has been profitable every year since 1973.

Ideas

As co-founder and CEO of Southwest Airlines, Kelleher turned conventional airline industry wisdom on its head. With a strategy (although Kelleher had a low opinion of traditional strategic planning) of low fares and high-quality customer service, Kelleher’s vision centred on using more fuel-efficient aircraft to lower costs and challenging his employees to provide no-frills service without lowering standards. He also paid well, insisting that employees should be treated like customers. With a mantra of hiring for attitude and training for skill, Kelleher created a unique company culture that became the backbone of Southwest’s success.

Bio

Born in New Jersey in 1931, Kelleher began his career as a lawyer before joining up with one of his clients, Rollin King, to create Southwest Airlines. Originally operating as an intrastate airline within Texas, the first flights, which took off in 1971, were between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Kelleher became chairman of the board in 1978 and in 1981, CEO and president, positions he held for 20 years. Although he stepped down as chairman and the board in 2008, he was given the title chairman emeritus and remained connected to the business.

Content

Kelleher preferred running Southwest to writing about his achievements but others have sought to capture his management lessons, including “Herb Kelleher: Manage in Good Times So You’ll Do Well in the Bad Times” (Theresa Johnston, Insights by Stanford Business, 2006); “Herb Kelleher: The Thought Leader Interview” (Chuck Lucier, Strategy + Business, 2004); “Flying High with Herb Kelleher: A Profile in Charismatic Leadership” (Jane Whitney Gibson and Charles W Blackwell, Sage Journals, 1999).

NATIONALITY: American

Media picks

Verdict

“Kelleher was perhaps the best CEO in America.”

Fortune magazine

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with the latest and greatest ideas in business, management, and thought leadership.

*mandatory field

Thinkers50 will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to provide news, updates, and marketing. Please confirm that you agree to have us contact you by clicking below:


You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at . We will treat your information with respect. For more information about our privacy practices please visit our website. By clicking below, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Privacy Policy Update

Thinkers50 Limited has updated its Privacy Policy on 28 March 2024 with several amendments and additions to the previous version, to fully incorporate to the text information required by current applicable date protection regulation. Processing of the personal data of Thinkers50’s customers, potential customers and other stakeholders has not been changed essentially, but the texts have been clarified and amended to give more detailed information of the processing activities.

Thinkers50 Awards Gala 2023

Join us in celebration of the best in business and management thinking.