Gary Kelly CEO of Southwest Airlines - Research Paper Example

He has a background as an accountant (Fitzpatrick). He has proven himself throughout the years to be both a steady leader and a confident innovator. The airline industry is extremely competitive and profit margins are at the mercy of a number of factors beyond the control of even the most activist CEO. He is routinely called one of the best CEOs in the United States (McCann). His personal background is somewhat instructive. A story is told of him wanting to be an oceanographer as a young man, but then moving to Texas to play football in university.

It was a bad season and he moved on to try something else: accountancy (Fitzpatrick). Throughout his life he is quick to size up errors and shift focus when things are not working out. There are few better qualities in the leader of a large business. In a sense Kelly comes to work in the shadow of the man who built Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher, but he has distinguished himself from the founder in a number of ways. While most other airlines were seeking to charge customers for every pretzel, Kelly saw an opportunity.

People thought he was crazy, but he decided to respect customers. He saw the market going one way, and he understood instinctively that space was opening for Southwest to seize. He refused to charge customers for baggage, and the company quickly shot to profitability. A recent article quoted Kelleher on his successor. "To be an excellent leader, you have to be a superb follower," Kelleher said. "Gary has provided great leadership. We transitioned for three years, and then he took over everything that I normally did.

I'm very, very pleased and proud of his accomplishments" (LA Times). Being adaptable has helped Kelly and Southwest succeed in a way that few airlines have done in this day and age. Not only has he expanded Southwest's market, but he has become something of a legend. A story that business reporters like to quote goes as follows: When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans— Southwest Airline’s largest hub—the company’s service to the city dramatically dropped from 57 flights a day to just two.

 But while the City of New Orleans was forced to lay off workers, Southwest was able to offer the option of relocation to all of its 250 New Orleans employees (McCann). For many other companies this would have been devastating, but for Kelly it was an opportunity. It is clear that his leadership style owes a great deal to seeing opportunity where others see disaster. He isn't afraid to pursue risky projects, but knows that customers come first. Recent problems with Southwest aircraft have given Kelly a chance to shine in front of the national media.

In early April, a Southwest plane suffered from a tear in its fuselage. This attracted a great deal of attention and lead a number of news broadcasts. Kelly had a choice with this situation. He could have said that the problem was just a fluke, a once-in-a-lifetime structural defect. That would have been the easy thing to do. But instead he chose to show what kind of leader he is. He ordered the fleet grounded for inspection (Martin, et al). Kelly understood that branding and marketing are important, but that when it comes to basic issues of safety, airlines cannot afford to skimp.

Recovering from the negative attention can only be done by showing that Southwest has a safety climate with a real abundance-of-caution philosophy. His actions were widely heralded, even if they were expensive and