Southwest Airlines’ CEO-in-waiting Robert Jordan is relatively unknown outside of the aviation industry, but he’s played key roles at the Dallas-based carrier since joining the company in 1988.
Jordan will succeed Gary Kelly as Southwest’s next chief executive officer on Feb. 1. He’ll work with Kelly and other executives — president Tom Nealon and chief operating officer Mike Van de Ven — to create a transition plan.
“He’s just that wonderful kind of person and he’s successful wherever he goes,” Kelly said of the company’s executive vice president of corporate services. “He’s coming into this job with far more years of experience than I had and is just the right person to take us over the next 50 years.”
Jordan, 60, has often been tapped to take on pressing projects at Southwest, such as the 2011 merger with AirTran or last year’s plan to trim its workforce through voluntary buyouts and leave during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think this is my 15th job, and in all of those but one, Gary has moved me around to give me more experience,” Jordan said.
Jordan, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in computer science, quickly climbed company ranks after arriving as a programmer analyst in 1988, becoming director of revenue accounting in 1994, corporate controller in 1997 and vice president of purchasing in 2001.
Since then, he’s held several other executive positions, including executive vice president and chief commercial officer from 2011 to 2017. He led the development of the Southwest.com e-commerce platform, the Rapid Rewards loyalty program and the company’s enhanced boarding process.
Jumping around to different parts of the company, Jordan said, is what ultimately prepared him to take on this new role.
“Bob goes in and he builds organizations,” Kelly said. “He develops leaders, and he leaves behind very solid foundations that can be built further.”
Five CEOs have directed the company in its 50 years of operation, none of whom followed the same path to the top. James Parker, Southwest’s fourth chief executive, served as general counsel to the airline before taking the position, while Gary Kelly was the chief financial officer immediately before stepping up.
In his role as executive vice president of corporate services, Jordan heads executive leadership for the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts as well as its people and culture — long a hallmark of Southwest.
“I do believe on a personal level that [Jordan] is a people person,” said Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, which represents 8,500 pilots.
Jordan has the operational experience to head the airline, Murray said, especially given recent technology issues that plagued the company. Just over a week ago, Southwest grounded flights for several hours following a computer issue. It canceled about 500 flights on June 15 and delayed hundreds more in a disruption that spanned several days.
“I would consider him a fireman,” Murray said. “He has dealt with, over time, a lot of sticky things that Southwest has required of him.”
Jordan will take over an airline with more than 56,000 employees that served more than 130 million passengers in 2019 — its peak year before the pandemic, It operated more than 4,000 weekday departures during the peak 2019 travel season.
This year, Southwest aggressively added beach and mountain destinations to its schedule to win over leisure travelers leading the industry’s recovery. It’s adding new routes to Eugene, Ore., Bellingham, Wash., and Syracuse, N.Y., in coming months.
Jordan, who lives in Flower Mound with his wife, also serves on multiple outside boards, including the Texas A&M University Association of Former Students board of directors, The Container Store board of directors and the Southwestern Medical Foundation board of trustees.
He’s well known for recognizing the work of the Association of Former Students staff and board, sending out personalized notes to each staff member after the organization’s quarterly meetings.
“He is a very inspiring leader and is very aware and appreciative of the contributions of others,” said Kathryn Greenwade, vice president of the association. “He is a person of impeccable character and integrity. He rallies people to do their best work.”
His experience helping Southwest through major events, like 9/11 and the COVID pandemic, makes him an invaluable member of The Container Store board of directors, said Container Store chairwoman and former CEO Melissa Reiff.
“One of the things I’m most proud of in my career is how [The Container Store] managed COVID,” Reiff said. “I relied on Bob heavily with that.”
Jordan, who has been on The Container Store board since 2013, will take over as the board’s chairman in September.
Looking forward, Jordan said he’s focused on creating a smooth leadership transition as the airline comes out of the pandemic. Kelly will become executive chairman of the company’s board of directors, a position he hopes to hold until 2026.
“We’ve got a terrific group of leaders. We’ve got, obviously, the best employees on the planet,” Jordan said. “And the No. 1 thing I can do for them right now is make sure I work with Tom and Mike and the others to make sure that the transition is the best transition that you’ve ever seen.”
