Gerald L. "Gerry" Gitner is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

former

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

who occupied high-level positions at

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...

(TWA),

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

(Pan Am), People Express Airlines, and other major

airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in ...

. He has also served as chairman and director for several aviation-related and non-aviation-related companies. Gitner is best known for his time as the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

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 J.D. Power is an American data analytics, software, and consumer intelligence company founded in 1968. The company specializes in the use of big data, artificial intelligence, and algorithmic models examining consumer behavior. The firm's busine ...

awards, and ultimately facilitated the 2001 sale of the company to

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

Education

Born In Boston, he attended Boston Latin School, then attended

Boston University College of Arts and Sciences The Boston University College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), which includes the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GRS), is the largest school at Boston University, offering Bachelor of Arts degrees in 25 departments and nearly 25 interdisciplina ...

where he graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in 1966. He then attended the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

where he received a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

(MBA) in 1968. 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, the Gitner Prize for Teaching at the University of Rochester’s

Simon Business School Simon Business School (formerly known as the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration) is the business school of the University of Rochester. It is located on the university's River Campus in Rochester, New York. It was renam ...

and the Gitner Family Photojournalism Endowed Award is presented annually by the

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

Career

Gitner began his career at TWA in 1968. He would work his way up to vice president for scheduling before leaving in 1974. He moved on to

Texas International Airlines Texas International Airlines Inc. was a United States local service carrier, known from 1940 until 1947 as Aviation Enterprises, until 1969 as Trans-Texas Airways (TTA), and as Texas International Airlines until 1982, when it merged with Contine ...

where he eventually became the Senior Vice President of Marketing. In 1980, he left Texas International and co-founded People Express Airlines, a low-cost airline based in the

northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the 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. He would eventually add the titles of vice chairman,

chief financial officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

, and Chairman/CEO of Pan Am World Services. 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 United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

. Gitner left Pan Am in 1985, and became the President of

Texas Air Corporation Texas Air Corporation, also known as Texas Air, was an airline holding company in the United States, incorporated in June 1980 by airline investor Frank Lorenzo to hold and invest in airlines. The company had its headquarters in the America T ...

, an airline

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

(

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...

New York Air New York Air was a low-cost airline in the United States owned by Texas Air Corporation and based at Hangar 5 at LaGuardia Airport in Flushing, Queens, New York. It ceased operations on February 1, 1987, in a merger with Continental Airlines. ...

, etc.). He would leave Texas Air in 1986, and, soon thereafter, joined ATASCO USA, an aircraft trading and leasing entity. He served as the CEO of ATASCO until 1990. 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. 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. Gitner stepped down as CEO in 1999, while remaining Chairman. 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). 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 New AmScan PC LLC formerly, Party City Holdco Inc. is an American chain of party supply stores founded in 1986 by Steve Mandell in East Hanover, New Jersey. Party City's headquarters are in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. Party City was the largest ...

) board of directors in 2000 and serves as the chairman of D.G. Associates Inc. He was the non-executive Chairman of the Board for

Kitty Hawk Aircargo ''For the Dallas, Texas, based airline that flew in 1978, see Kitty Hawk Airways.'' Kitty Hawk Aircargo was an American cargo airline based on the grounds of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and in Grapevine, Texas, U.S. It operated dome ...

from 2002 (soon after it emerged from reorganization) to 2007. He served as a director for Tricom, S.A, a telecommunications company in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. He also served as a director for CIFG Holdings and is a principal at Cross Continental Capital. In 2024 he was appointed Chairman of the Advisory Board o
Matternet.com
a premier manufacturer and operator of delivery drones worldwide. Gitner served as a

Trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

at Boston University from 1984 to 1996 and is now a trustee emeritus there. He also served as a trustee for the Rochester Institute of Technology and the American College of Management and Technology in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. He served as a member of the Chancellor's Council of the

University of Missouri–St. Louis The University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) is a Public university, public research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Established in 1963, it is the newest of the four universities in the University of Missouri System. Located ...

. He is currently on Advisory Boards for Boston University and The Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. In 2020 he was presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2020 from the Simon Business School of The University of Rochester. Gitner served as Chairman of the Financial Advisory Board for the Town of Highland Beach in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

from 2012-2015. He served as the chairman for eJet Aviation Holdings, Inc. from 2008-2015. He presently serves as the Chairman of Global Aero Holdings, LTD.

Personal life

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 Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

and Visual Communications at the

Newhouse School The Newhouse School of Public Communications (formally S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications; also as the Newhouse School) is the communications and journalism school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. The school was named af ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gitner, Gerald Living people University of Rochester alumni American airline chief executives Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni People from Highland Beach, Florida Year of birth missing (living people)