Gary Kelly is an American business executive currently serving as the Executive Chairman at Southwest Airlines. He has been an employee of Southwest Airlines for over 35 years, having joined the company in 1986.
Kelly's career at Southwest began as a controller. He was promoted to chief financial officer and vice president of finance in 1989, and then to Executive Vice President in 2001. In 2004, Kelly became Southwest's fifth CEO and vice chairman, succeeding James Parker.