David Neeleman

David G. Neeleman (born October 16, 1959) is a Brazilian-American entrepreneur who has founded five commercial airlines, Morris Air, WestJet, JetBlue Airways, Azul Brazilian Airlines, and Breeze Airways. Along with Humberto Pedrosa and Aigle Azur he owns 45% of another commercial airline in Europe, TAP Air Portugal.[3] In 2017 he became a citizen of Cyprus.[4]

David G. Neeleman
Neeleman in 2015
Born (1959-10-16) October 16, 1959
São Paulo, Brazil
Citizenship
OccupationChairman of Azul Brazilian Airlines and CEO of Breeze Airways
Known forCommercial Airline Entrepreneur
Spouse(s)
Vicki Vranes
​
​
(m. 1980; div. 2013)​
[1][2]
Children10

Biography

Neeleman was born in São Paulo, Brazil and raised in Utah, U.S.[5] to a family of Dutch and American descent. He lived in Brazil until he was five.[6]

Career

He co-founded (with June Morris) Morris Air, a low-fare charter airline, and from 1984 to 1988, he was the executive vice president of the company. In 1988 Neeleman assumed the helm of Morris Air as its president. In 1993, when Morris Air was acquired by Southwest Airlines for $130 million (Neeleman received $25 million from the sale), he worked for five months on their Executive Planning Committee.[7]

After leaving Southwest, Neeleman became the CEO of Open Skies, a touch screen airline reservation and check-in systems company, later acquired by HP in 1999. At the same time, he helped with another upstart airline, WestJet. JetBlue was incorporated in Delaware in August 1998 and officially founded in February 1999, under the name "NewAir" by Neeleman.[8]

As the CEO of JetBlue Airways, his 2002 salary was $200,000 with a bonus of $90,000. Neeleman donated his entire salary to the JetBlue Crewmember Crisis Fund, which was established for JetBlue employees who had fallen on hard times.[9]

On May 10, 2007, David Neeleman was replaced by David Barger as CEO of JetBlue[10] and on May 21, 2008 he was replaced as chairman of the board by Joel Peterson.[11]

On March 27, 2008 Neeleman officially announced plans to launch a new airline, Azul (Portuguese for "blue"), a domestic carrier in Brazil. Azul will complete 2013 with over 5 Billion (BRL) in sales and is currently Brazil's third-largest airline.

On October 30, 2013 Neeleman and his youngest brother Mark James Neeleman, a cofounder of Azul,[12] announced the launch of a new company, Vigzul, a home security and monitoring company. Vigzul came from an idea of Mark Neeleman and was founded by David Allred, Brett Chambers and Neeleman serves as Chairman of the board and principal investor.[13][14]

In June 2015, the Portuguese Government decided to sell the TAP Air Portugal Group, owner of the national air carrier, TAP Air Portugal, to the Gateway consortium with David Neeleman in partnership with Humberto Pedrosa who take control of 61% of the capital of the Portuguese carrier. TAP Air Portugal will maintain the country as the airline’s main hub for a minimum of 30 years.

New US startup

In June 2018, he announced plans for a new US airline called Breeze Airways for which he raised $100m capital.[15] On July 17, 2018, Breeze Airways signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for 60 A220-300 aircraft to be delivered beginning in 2021.[16]

Personal life

Neeleman, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, served a two-year mission in Brazil when he was 19.[17] He has been diagnosed with ADHD. He is the father of ten children with his former wife, Vicki Vranes.[18][19][20] He is the 2005 recipient of the Tony Jannus Award for outstanding leadership in the commercial aviation industry.[21] He speaks fluent Portuguese and holds citizenships of Brazil, U.S. and Cyprus.[22] The Neelemans have since divorced, and Vicki now goes by the last name "Labrum."[23] According to various news sources, the divorce resulted in a "multi-million dollar" settlement.[24][25]

Neeleman has said that in the early years of JetBlue, he always sat in the last row in a seat that did not recline, to demonstrate that "pleasing the customer was more important than pleasing the chief executive."[26][27]

Neeleman is the uncle of BYU Cougars quarterback Zach Wilson.[28]

References
  1. "Case Detail - FST-FA12-4023216-S". civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov.
  2. Wynbrandt, James (17 December 2010). Flying High: How JetBlue Founder and CEO David Neeleman Beats the Competition... Even in the World's Most Turbulent Industry. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118040164 – via Google Books.
  3. "David Neeleman's Return Trip: Extended Q&A". Inc.com. 2008-06-01. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  4. ""Mr Passport" - TAP's David Neeleman changes nationality, again". portugalresident.com. 2017-03-14. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  5. Welling, Angie (August 25, 2007). "JetBlue founder recalls stormy times". Deseret News. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  6. Sellers, Patricia (July 26, 2010). "The Next JetBlue: What's David Neeleman Doing Starting a New Airline in Brazil? Setting Records, For One Thing". Fortune. 162 (2): 97–100. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  7. "JetBlue Airways Corporation - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on JetBlue Airways Corporation". Referenceforbusiness.com. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  8. "JetBlue". JetBlue. Archived from the original on 2012-04-19. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  9. Wade, James B.; O'Reilly III, Charles A.; Pollock, Timothy G. (September–October 2006). "Overpaid CEOs and Underpaid Managers: Fairness and Executive Compensation". Organization Science. 17 (5): 527. doi:10.1287/orsc.1060.0204. ISSN 1047-7039.
  10. Schlangenstein, Mary (2007-05-10). "JetBlue Air Names Barger to Succeed Neeleman as Chief (Update9)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  11. Shwiff, Kathy (May 21, 2008). "JetBlue Solidifies Succession Plan". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
  12. "EDT MATERIA IMPRIMIR - Há algo de novo no ar". Época Negócios. 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  13. "Mark Neeleman (AZUL & VIGZUL)". Startup Grind. Archived from the original on March 26, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  14. "Dono da Azul lança empresa de segurança e investe R$ 100 milhões | Valor Económico". Valor.com.br. 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  15. "He's Baaaack: Stop what you're doing. JetBlue founder David Neeleman wants to launch a new U.S. airline". Airline Weekly. June 17, 2018.
  16. "Future U.S. airline signs commitment for 60 A220-300 aircraft" (Press release). Airbus. 17 July 2018.
  17. "Mormon in America: JetBlue founder on going from missionary to entrepreneur". NBC News. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
  18. https://www.npr.org/2019/02/01/690686584/jetblue-airways-david-neeleman
  19. "TBR Board of Directors: David Neeleman, Chief Executive Officer, jetBlue Airways". Travel Business Roundtable. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  20. Souccar, Miriam Kreinin (4 October 2015). "The Rise of the Outrageously Long Commute". The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  21. "David Neeleman, Founder of JetBlue Airlines – Career without a Degree". Claudia Fox. March 21, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  22. Azul, Brazil Airline Started by JetBlue Founder, Files for I.P.O. 1 December 2014, The New York Times.
  23. "Vicki Vranes Labrum". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  24. "Big-Ticket Divorce Just One Reason Brazil's Rich Are Cashing Out". Bloomberg.com. 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  25. "Azul de David Neeleman lança venda de acções" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  26. "JETBLUE AIRWAYS INFORMATION HISTORY PICTURES AND FACTS". www.AviationExplorer.com. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  27. Pae, Peter (11 May 2007). "JetBlue changes CEO, may move in new direction". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  28. "BYU star quarterback Zach Wilson's family as important as his stardom". www.emikeflynn.com. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
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