Lawrence W. "Larry" Kellner (born January 19, 1959) is the former

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started o ...

, having succeeded

Gordon Bethune Gordon M. Bethune (born August 29, 1941) is a retired US airline executive. He was the CEO of Continental Airlines from 1994 until his retirement at the end of 2004. He formerly served on the boards of Honeywell and Prudential Financial. Bethune w ...

as CEO in December 2004. Prior to his arrival at Continental, he served as the

chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

American Savings Bank American Savings Bank is Hawaii's third-largest financial institution, with assets of $6.7 billion. A subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE: HE), it is headed by Chairman Constance Lau. American Savings Bank dates back to Septemb ...

. Kellner retired as the airline's chief executive at the end of December 2009. During his career at Continental, he previously served as a vice president, chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Kellner currently serves as President of Emerald Creek Group, LLC - a Texas-based private equity firm primarily focused on real estate and chairman of

The Boeing Company The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

Early life

Kellner was born in Worthington, Minnesota, and grew up in

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumter ( ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1981 with a degree in accounting. He resides in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, Texas. Kellner is the 2008 recipient of the ''

Tony Jannus Award The Tony Jannus Award recognizes outstanding individual achievement in scheduled commercial aviation by airline executives, inventors and manufacturers, and government leaders. The award is conferred annually by the Tony Jannus Distinguished Avia ...

'' for distinguished achievement in commercial air transportation. In July 2009, Continental announced Kellner's retirement as its CEO at the end of the year.

Career

Kellner is the prior vice chairman of the

Greater Houston Partnership The Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) is the largest chamber of commerce in the Houston area. The Partnership is an economic development organization for the Greater Houston area. The mission of the Greater Houston Partnership is to make Houston o ...

, and that organization's current chairman. Kellner was elected to Boeing's board of directors in 2011. He is a trustee of

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

. Kellner used to be a member of the

National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America The National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America governs the Boy Scouts of America organization. One source reports that there were 72 members of the board in 2001. The board is led by the national chair, a volunteer elected by the Nat ...

, the organization's governing body.

Awards and honors

Kellner was named

's Person of the Year for 2008.''

'' (March 28, 2008).

, press release via ''

PR Newswire PR Newswire is a distributor of press releases headquartered in Chicago. The service was created in 1954 to allow companies to electronically send press releases to news organizations, using teleprinters at first. The founder, Herbert Muschel, ...

''.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kellner, Larry 1959 births Living people Continental Airlines people American chairpersons of corporations American airline chief executives People from Sumter, South Carolina University of South Carolina alumni National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America members American chief operating officers American chief financial officers 20th-century American businesspeople United Airlines people