David Neeleman
CEO
jetBlue Airways
New York, NY USA
“I want to be the leader that people want to follow.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationDavid Neeleman
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
When he was nine years old, he'd work at his grandfather's store; learned how to talk to people, learned about pricing and stocking.
Has a learning disability that made high school tough for him; put off college to go on a church mission to Brazil, where he was born.
He worked with "the poorest of the poor," learned Portuguese, learned how to "serve others"; says that "really set him up for life."
When he came back, he went to college with a new focus, was finally getting A's.
Three years into college, he got the opportunity to start an airline on the East Coast, so he dropped out of school.
Was fired from Southwest Airlines, which was the company he'd always wanted to work for.
Took everything he learned at Southwest and decided that instead of hanging his head, he'd start his own airline.
His definition of success is "mattering"; loves that many of his employees say jetBlue is the best company they've ever worked for.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Bachelor
University of Utah
University of Utah
Career
CEO
I founded JetBlue Airlines and am dedicated to helping all our teams succeed.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Entrepreneurship
Travel
Helping People
Interviewed By
Boston - New York City
The US Team begins their roadtrip in Boston and head out to New York City to interview David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue. Later they sit down with Tracy McKnight, music supervisor and president of Commotion Records. Also in New York, the team interviews Sam Ross, founder of Green Chimneys Children's School.
