Nominees

David Cush

  • Former CEO of Virgin America

David Cush brings 30 years of aviation experience, including nine years as CEO of Virgin America and two decades of experience at American Airlines in various operational, sales and network planning roles. Under Cush’s leadership, Virgin America delivered an exceptional customer experience that resulted in the company winning “Best U.S. Airline” in Conde Nast Traveler’s readers’ choice awards for nine consecutive years and the top position in Consumer Reports’ airline customer satisfaction rankings. Cush joined Virgin America as CEO just after the airline’s inaugural flight, and led the airline through the turmoil of the financial crisis and a subsequent period of rapid growth. Cush led Virgin America to realize its first annual profit, oversaw its successful initial public offering and ultimately negotiated the airline’s acquisition by Alaska Airlines. Cush’s leadership delivered a 148% total shareholder return over Virgin America’s two years as a publicly traded company. After the sale of Virgin America, Cush served as interim CEO and subsequently CEO of Service King Paint & Body, a Blackstone and Carlyle-owned collision repair business. As a former airline CEO with a demonstrated track record of fostering a strong employee culture and best-in-class customer service, Cush would bring deep experience to Southwest’s effort to build upon the Company’s core cultural strengths while evolving and modernizing the strategy.

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