Biography of Howard Putnam
Former CEO, Southwest and Braniff Airlines

Howard Putnam entered the airline business as a baggage handler at Midway Airport in Chicago for Capital Airlines at age 17. Capital was soon merged into United and Howard held thirteen different positions before being named Group Vice President of Marketing for United Airlines in 1976. In 1978 he was recruited to become President and CEO of fledgling Southwest Airlines. While at Southwest, Howard led the development of the "fun" culture and excellent customer service that Southwest is still known for today. In 1981, Howard was recruited by Braniff International to come aboard as CEO and save and/or restructure the financially failing airline. He was the first airline CEO to successfully take a major carrier into, through and out of chapter 11. Braniff flew again in 1984. He is the author of "The Winds of Turbulence" on leadership and ethics. Harvard University wrote a case study on his experiences at Braniff, "The Ethics of Bankruptcy" as a model of how to handle stakeholders in crisis.