Background
Dave Barger"s interest in airlines came from his father, who was a United Airlines pilot for 37 years.
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David Barger
Edit ProfileEducation
University of Michigan.
Career
He had been part of JetBlue"s founding team and served on the corporation"s board of directors. From 1982 to 1988, Barger served in a number of positions with New York Air, such as the Director of Stations. In 1992 he joined with Continental Airlines and held various management positions including Vice President of Continental"s Newark Liberty International Airport hub.
Barger was one of the first employees of JetBlue Airways in 1998, and served as the Chief Operating Officer until March 2007.
He had politicked the board, while Neeleman was busy publicly apologizing. Barger"s ascendancy caused widespread demoralization in the ranks.
He became JetBlue"s new Chief Executive Officer on May 10, 2007. On June 1, 2009, Barger became the president of JetBlue.
On September 18, 2014, Barger announced his resignation from the company effective February 16, 2015, following several reports that investors and the board were unhappy with the lagging stock price and Mr.
Barger"s performance. He was replaced on the board and as Chief Executive Officer by Robin Hayes. The stock price increased rapidly after Mr.
Barger"s removal was announced.
Achievements
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Following a February 2007 incident in which the airline was forced to cancel nearly 1,700 flights due to winter storms, JetBlue"s board of directors replaced founder and Chief Executive Officer David Neeleman with Barger. Neeleman, the company"s founder and largest individual investor, became a nonexecutive chairman as a result of the change.
