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Gerry Gitner
Born
Gerald L. Gitner
Alma materBoston University (BA '66)
Simon Business School at the University of Rochester (MBA '68)
OccupationAviation executive
Years active1968-present
Known for

Gerald L. "Gerry" Gitner[1] is an American former aviation executive who occupied high-level positions at Trans World Airlines (TWA), Pan American World Airways (Pan Am), People Express Airlines,[2] and other major airlines.[3][4] He has also served as chairman and director for several aviation-related and non-aviation-related companies.[5][6]

Gitner is best known for his time as the CEO of TWA in the late '90s during which time he increased fleet numbers, renewed the fleet, improved the company's debt structure, won two J.D. Power and Associates awards, and ultimately facilitated the 2001 sale of the company to American Airlines.[7][8][9][10]

Education

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Born In Boston, he attended Boston Latin School,[11] then attended Boston University College of Arts and Sciences where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in 1966.[12] He then attended the University of Rochester where he received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 1968.[2][13] Among other bequests, the Gerald and Deanne Gitner Family Innovation in Teaching with Technology Award is now presented annually by Boston University, where Gitner was a trustee and continues his association,[14] the Gitner Prize for Teaching at the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School and the Gitner Family Photojournalism Endowed Award is presented annually by the Rochester Institute of Technology.[15]

Career

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Gitner began his career at TWA in 1968. He would work his way up to vice president for scheduling before leaving in 1974.[3][16] He moved on to Texas International Airlines where he eventually became the Senior Vice President of Marketing.[16] In 1980, he left Texas International and co-founded People Express Airlines, a low-cost airline based in the northeastern United States. He was the president of that company before leaving in 1982 to become the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Planning at Pan American World Airways.[17][18][19] He would eventually add the titles of vice chairman,[20] chief financial officer, and Chairman/CEO of Pan Am World Services.[16] In his time at Pan Am, Gitner worked on Pan Am's debt, reworked the fleet, and raised cash. He also participated in the sale of Pan Am's Pacific flights to United Airlines.[19][21]

Gitner left Pan Am in 1985, and became the President of Texas Air Corporation, an airline holding company (Continental Airlines, New York Air, etc.). He would leave Texas Air in 1986,[22] and, soon thereafter, joined ATASCO USA, an aircraft trading and leasing entity. He served as the CEO of ATASCO until 1990.[6] In the early 1990s, Gitner simultaneously served on the board of directors at TWA while also serving as the chairman of the board at Avalon Group Ltd., an investment banking firm he co-founded. He was elected acting CEO of TWA in late 1996 and assumed the position of Chairman and CEO in February 1997.[1][3] In his time as CEO, Gitner improved on-time performance, increased the TWA fleet numbers, restructured the company's debt, and helped navigate the company toward its eventual absorption into American Airlines.[7][8][10][23] Gitner stepped down as CEO in 1999, while remaining Chairman.[23] During his tenure, the company won two J.D. Power and Associates awards (one for long-haul flights in 1998 and one for short-haul flights in 1999).[9]

Since his time at TWA, Gitner has gone on to be a part of numerous other companies and firms. He was appointed to the Factory Card Outlet (now Party City) board of directors in 2000 and serves as the chairman of D.G. Associates Inc.[5] He was the non-executive Chairman of the Board for Kitty Hawk Aircargo from 2002 (soon after it emerged from reorganization) to 2007.[24][25][26] He served as a director for Tricom, S.A, a telecommunications company in the Dominican Republic.[27] He also served as a director for CIFG Holdings and is a principal at Cross Continental Capital.[28]In 2024 he was appointed Chairman of the Advisory Board of Matternet.com a premier manufacturer and operator of delivery drones worldwide.

Gitner served as a Trustee at Boston University from 1984 to 1996 and is now a trustee emeritus there.[12][29] He also served as a trustee for the Rochester Institute of Technology and the American College of Management and Technology in Croatia.[13][24] He served as a member of the Chancellor's Council of the University of Missouri–St. Louis.[5] He is currently on Advisory Boards for Boston University and The Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester.[30] In 2020 he was presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2020 from the Simon Business School of The University of Rochester.[31] Gitner served as Chairman of the Financial Advisory Board for the Town of Highland Beach in Florida from 2012-2015.[32] He served as the chairman for eJet Aviation Holdings, Inc. from 2008-2015.[33] He presently serves as the Chairman of Global Aero Holdings, LTD.

Personal life

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Gitner met his late wife, Deanne, while in graduate school at the University of Rochester. The couple has two sons. Their older son, Daniel, is a lawyer in New York City, and their younger son, Seth, is an Associate Professor of Magazine, News and Digital Journalism Journalism and Visual Communications at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University.[13][34]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Twa Is Carrying Some Heavy Baggage". Bloomberg Businessweek. 6 April 1997. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b Geggis, Anne (8 May 2015). "A graduate degree 47 years in the making". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Campbell, Jay (24 February 1997). "Newsmakers: Gitner And Goodmanson Take The Controls At TWA and AWA". Business Travel News. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  4. ^ Conger, Jay A.; Kanungo, Rabindra N. (1998). Charismatic Leadership in Organizations. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781452221410.
  5. ^ a b c "TWA chairman joins Factory Card Outlet board". St. Louis Business Journal. 8 November 2000. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  6. ^ a b O'Neal, Donna (21 December 1986). "The Gamble Over Airline Safety". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  7. ^ a b "TWA aircraft plans: Trans World Airlines Inc. announced..." Chicago Tribune. 9 December 1998. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  8. ^ a b Hegeman, Holly (19 February 1998). "What's Next for TWA". TheStreet.com. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Continental, TWA top latest airline quality survey". CNN. 11 May 1999. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Casino owner Icahn weighing deal for TWA". Las Vegas Sun. 11 January 2001. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  11. ^ "BLS-BLSA: Boston Latin School - Boston Latin School Association".
  12. ^ a b King, Francie (April 2015). "Stargazer". Boston University. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  13. ^ a b c Andreatta, David (6 May 2015). "Andreatta: Airline CEO gets MBA from UR, 47 years later". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  14. ^ Barlow, Rich (12 May 2014). "CAS Physics Team Wins First Gitner Award". Boston University. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  15. ^ Bureau, Scott (17 May 2011). "Shane Keller Wins Gitner Photojournalism Award". Rochester Institute of Technology. Retrieved 6 June 2015. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ a b c Cuff, Daniel F. (8 March 1983). "BUSINESS PEOPLE; Pan Am Vice President To Head Service Unit". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  17. ^ Salpukas, Agis (17 March 1982). "BRANIFF CHAIRMAN MOVES TO PAN AM". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  18. ^ Rhodes, Lucien (1 January 1984). "That Daring Young Man And His Flying Machines". Inc. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  19. ^ a b Petzinger, Jr., Thomas (1996). Hard Landing: The Epic Contest for Power and Profits That Plunged the Airlines into Chaos. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0812928358.
  20. ^ Gilpin, Kenneth N. (5 December 1985). "BUSINESS PEOPLE; 2 Pan Am Officers Get New Positions". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  21. ^ Salpukas, Agis (5 November 1983). "Pan Am, American Complete Jet Deal". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  22. ^ "Gitner Resigns as President of Texas Air". Los Angeles Times. 27 May 1986. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  23. ^ a b Peltz, James F. (17 March 1999). "TWA President Promoted to Chief Executive". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  24. ^ a b "Gerald L. Gitner". www.bloomberg.com. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  25. ^ Banstetter, Trebor (27 April 2007). "Kitty Hawk Loses CEO, Chairman to Shake-Up". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  26. ^ "Kitty Hawk, Inc. Announces the Election of Gerald L. Gitner as Chairman of The Board". The Free Library. 7 November 2002. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  27. ^ "Tricom Announces Board Appointment". PR Newswire. 25 August 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  28. ^ "REPORT ON EXAMINATION OF THE CIFG ASSURANCE NORTH AMERICA, INC AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2011" (PDF). www.dfs.ny.gov. New York State Department of Financial Services. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  29. ^ "New 'Gitner Prize' to Recognize Faculty Excellence at the Pardee School". Boston University. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  30. ^ "Deans' Advisory Boards". www.bu.edu. Boston University. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  31. ^ "Alumni : Simon 2020 Alumni Awards".
  32. ^ "Financial Advisory Board". www.ci.highland-beach.fl.us. Highland Beach, Florida. Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  33. ^ "eJet Aviation Welcomes A New Director, President And CEO". PR Newswire. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  34. ^ "Seth Gitner Joins Syracuse University's Faculty". NPPA.org. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
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