Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotes by Colleen Barrett (American Businessperson)

Colleen C. Barrett (b.1944) is an American business executive. As a corporate leader of Southwest Airlines, she was the first female to serve as president of a major airline.

Born in Bellows Falls, Vermont, Barrett joined the San Antonio, Texas, law firm of Mathews & Branscomb as a legal secretary. Before long, she started working with lawyer Herb Kelleher. When Kelleher and the San Antonio entrepreneur Rollin King decided to create Southwest Airlines, Barrett became an integral part of Kelleher’s efforts to gain legal approval for the fledgling airline. Barrett formally joined Southwest as a corporate secretary in 1978.

Barrett is the architect of Southwest’s renowned corporate culture that stresses customer satisfaction and employee participation. She moved up the corporate ladder to become vice president of administration and vice president of customers. When Kelleher retired in 2001, Barrett became president and COO in 2001. She oversaw new initiatives such as self-service check-in kiosks, online boarding passes, and cost-saving measures such as flight cuts and employee buyouts. She stepped down from her executive roles in 2008 but remained an employee until 2013. She also served on Southwest Airlines’s board of directors 2001–08.

Colleen co-authored with the author Ken Blanchard the book LUV: A Different Way to Create Success (2010.)

More: Wikipedia READ: Works by Colleen Barrett

Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.
Colleen Barrett

When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers.
Colleen Barrett
Topics: Architecture, Action

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