Jeff Smisek
Jeffery Alan Smisek, commonly known as Jeff Smisek (born 1954) is the Chairman, President and CEO of United Airlines. United and its United Express regional partner airlines operate an average of 5,100 flights a day to more than 370 airports across six continents. Prior to this role, Smisek was Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Continental Airlines, which merged with United Airlines in 2010. Smisek joined Continental in 1995 as Senior Vice and General Counsel. In 2004, he became President and was elected to the company's board of directors. He became President and Chief Operating Officer in September 2008. Smisek graduated from Princeton University, A.B. summa cum laude in economics, in 1976, and Harvard Law School, J.D. magna cum laude, in 1982. Smisek is married and has two children. In 2014 Smisek was elected Chairman of the Board of Airlines for America. He was named Aviation Week’s Person of the Year for 2010. In 2013 and 2014, Smisek was criticized for United's poor customer service and employee dissatisfaction, problems with the integration of Continental and severe quarterly losses of $609 million. There was also a reduction of the performance-based part of Smisek's pay from $3.5 million to $1.25 million. Following a strategy of cost cuts, share buybacks and conservative expansion of capacities, one commentator concluded that Smisek has regained the trust of Wall Street analysts by late 2014.