William S. Ayer (born 1955 in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, United States) is an American former chairman, president, pilot and chief executive officer of

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the numb ...

and Alaska Air Group which is the parent company of Alaska Airlines and its sister carrier

Horizon Air Horizon Air Industries, Inc., operating as Horizon Air, is an American regional airline based in SeaTac, Washington, United States. Horizon Air and its sister carrier Alaska Airlines are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, and all Horizon-opera ...

. Originally interested in being a physician, he later changed career goals. He is a graduate of Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in economics and biology, Ayer earned a master's degree in business administration from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. He holds commercial and flight instructor pilot certificates with instrument and multi-engine ratings. Ayer founded and was president of Air Olympia, a commuter airline serving

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. “We operated for two years,” noted Ayer. “We didn't go broke, but we probably would have if we'd stuck with it.” He also served as a regional manager for

Piper Aircraft Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida, United States and owned since 2009 by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th centur ...

Co. Ayer began his career with Alaska in 1995 as vice president of marketing and planning and progressed through various posts to become chief executive officer in 2002, and chairman in 2003. He spent 13 years at Horizon where he was senior vice president of operations before joining Alaska. Ayer serves on the University of Washington Board of Regents. He was appointed by then-Governor

Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and ag ...

from January 17, 2012 to September 30, 2016. He is also director of Puget Energy, the Museum of Flight and Angel Flight America. He also serves on the

Business School Advisory Board. Married with one child, he resides in

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area and has variously been characterized as a s ...

. As a pilot, Ayer gives back to the community also by flying Angel Flight America patients to their medical treatments. On February 16, 2012, Ayer announced that he will be stepping down as CEO of Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, and its parent company on May 15, 2012 and will be replaced by Brad Tilden, the airline's president. He is a pilot and CFO For

since 2014. Bill Ayer is chairman of the AOPA Foundation, and pilot.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayer, Bill 1955 births Alaska Air Group people Aviators from Washington (state) Living people People from Bellevue, Washington Regents of the University of Washington Stanford University School of Humanities and Sciences alumni University of Washington Foster School of Business alumni