Jeffery Alan Smisek (born August 17, 1954) is an American businessman, who is the president of GOOSE Capital and on the board of directors of Finch Therapeutics. Smisek previously worked in the airline industry as the chairman, president, and chief executive officer (CEO) of

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 ...

and, later, of

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 ...

Early life and education

Smisek was born in 1954. (requires purchase for access). His father, Raymond, was a World War II bomber pilot. His mother, Betty, was a big-band singer with the USO. Smisek grew up on military bases around the United States and Europe until his parents permanently moved to San Antonio in 1963. Smisek graduated summa cum laude with an A.B. in economics from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1976 after completing a 74-page long senior thesis titled "Zoning and Non-Zoning in the Urban Property Market: An Empirical Study of

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

." He received a J.D. magna cum laude from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1982.

Career

Smisek started his career as a banker for Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York, now

JP Morgan JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is the largest bank in the United States, and the world's largest bank by mar ...

. Prior to his twenty years in the airline business, Smisek was a partner at Vinson & Elkins LLP. Smisek spent the bulk of his career in leadership positions at

(1995-2010) and

(2010-2015).

Continental Airlines

In 1995 Continental's then-CEO Gordon Bethune persuaded Smisek to leave Vinson & Elkins to join Continental as General Counsel and help reverse the ailing airline's fortunes. Smisek became one of the chief architects of Continental's dramatic turnaround. Bethune once told ''USA Today'' that Smisek was the airline's savior. “It's not like in the movies when some guy saves an airplane from spinning to Earth...But he engineered the salvation of our company.” In 2004, Smisek became president and was elected to Continental's

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

. He became chief operating officer in September 2008 and CEO in January 2010.Jeff Smisek Biography
United Continental Holdings, Inc. website.

United Airlines

As a wave of consolidation hit the airline industry in 2008, Smisek led negotiations to merge Continental with United Airlines. The two airlines merged in October 2010, keeping the United name, and Smisek became president, CEO and, eventually, chairman of the board. Smisek oversaw the complex merger, which sought to combine route networks, negotiate new contracts with its employee groups, and merge and update disparate IT systems. From 2010 to 2015, Smisek tripled the value of United's stock. Difficulties stemming from the merger of United and Continental led to initial complaints over customer service, employee satisfaction, and problems with the integration of Continental. However, by late 2014 Smisek had regained the trust of

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

analysts after a strategy of cost cuts, share buybacks and conservative expansion of capacities. Smisek resigned from United on September 8, 2015, following accusations that the airline had attempted to influence officials at the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

. Smisek was never charged with wrongdoing and instead Port Authority Chairman David Samson was convicted of a felony for impeding an airport project to coerce United Airlines to fly to Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina, near a home that he owned. Smisek left United Airlines with a severance payment worth $28.8 million.

Finch Therapeutics

In February 2017, Smisek led the $5.6 million Series A financing of Finch Therapeutics, a clinical-stage microbiome therapeutics company.

GOOSE Capital

In January 2021, GOOSE Capital—an investment firm composed of former Fortune 500 executives, industry leaders, and serial entrepreneurs—selected Smisek to serve as its president.

Awards and honors

Smisek was named

Aviation Week ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network, a division of Informa. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aeros ...

's Person of the Year for 2010.''

'' (January 3, 2011).
Aviation Week Names United Continental CEO Jeff Smisek Person of the Year
, press release via ''

PR Newswire PR Newswire is a distributor of press releases headquartered in Chicago. The service was created in 1954 to allow companies to electronically send press releases to news organizations, using teleprinters at first. The founder, Herbert Muschel, ...

''.

Personal life

Smisek is married to Diana Strassmann, an American economist, and has two children.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Smisek, Jeff Princeton University alumni Harvard Law School alumni American airline chief executives Living people Continental Airlines people United Airlines people American chief operating officers 1954 births