It wasn’t long after I started as a pricing analyst at America West Airlines that I first met now-American Airlines CEO Doug Parker. At the time, pricing and revenue management fell under the finance umbrella, and our holiday party was at our VP’s house way up in north Scottsdale. I was just standing around and drinking a beer, when I started talking to this guy with floppy hair.
It never dawned on me that this person was our CFO, but sure enough, he was. Doug couldn’t have been more unassuming, and he seemed interested in our conversation, the contents of which I’ve long forgotten. The only thing I really remember from that interaction is that I instantly liked him.
I couldn’t have known at the time that Doug was destined for one of the most impressive 15 year runs as CEO that the industry has ever seen.
As I think everyone knows by now, Doug took over as the CEO of America West 10 days before 9/11. That might have been a convenient excuse for our…
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