Robert A. Milton (born July 30, 1960) was the chairman of the board of directors of
United Airlines Holdings
United Airlines, Inc. is a major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six continents with more destinations than any o ...
, which is the parent company 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 ...
. He serves as the lead independent director of
Air Lease Corporation
Air Lease Corporation (ALC) is an American aircraft leasing company founded in 2010 and headed by Steven F. Udvar-Házy. Air Lease purchases new commercial aircraft through direct orders from Boeing, Airbus, Embraer and ATR, and leases them to ...
. He was the chairman, president and chief executive officer of
ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., the parent company of
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...
, from 2004 to 2017.
Robert A. Milton
/ref> He is also a former chairman, president and CEO of Air Canada.
Early life and education
Milton was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and lived in Hong Kong, Belgium and the UK before completing his secondary school education in Singapore at the United World College of South East Asia
The United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) is an independent international school in Singapore. It is a member of the United World College (UWC) movement, which includes 18 schools worldwide. UWCSEA provides a K–12 education consi ...
in 1978. He then attended the Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...
, from which he graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management
In economics, industrial organization is a field that builds on the theory of the firm by examining the structure of (and, therefore, the boundaries between) firms and markets. Industrial organization adds real-world complications to the perf ...
.
Career
After graduating, Milton became a founding partner of Air Eagle Holdings Inc., and later worked as an independent commercial aviation consultant to British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...
.
Milton became involved with Air Canada in 1992, initially on a consulting basis. He was appointed executive vice-president and chief operating officer in 1996, and then became president and CEO in 1999. Shortly after he became CEO, 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 ...
and Onex initiated a hostile takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (law), company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast t ...
bid for Air Canada, which Milton helped to successfully defeat. Milton led Air Canada through significant restructuring. In 2004, he became chairman, president and CEO of ACE Aviation Holdings – a parent holding company under which the reorganized Air Canada and separate legal entities including Aeroplan
Aeroplan is the frequent-flyer program owned by Air Canada, Canada's flag carrier. The Aeroplan program was created in July 1984 by Air Canada as an incentive program for its frequent flyer customers. In 2002 it was spun off as a separate corpor ...
, Air Canada Jazz
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...
, Air Canada Technical Services, Air Canada Cargo, Air Canada Groundhandling, Destina.ca and Touram (Air Canada Vacations) are held.
References
Further reading
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External links
Profile at aircanada.com
Biography at Air Lease CorporationUWSEA Alumni Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milton, Robert
Canadian airline chief executives
Air Canada people
Georgia Tech alumni
Living people
Canadian chairpersons of corporations
People educated at a United World College
1960 births