Southwest Airlines Executive Chairman Gary Kelly appointed to Dallas Fed board

DALLAS—The Federal Reserve Board of Governors has appointed Gary Kelly to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ board of directors. He will serve the remaining portion of a three-year term ending Dec. 31, 2024.

Kelly is executive chairman of the board at Southwest Airlines Co.

In his role as a Dallas Fed board member, he will provide insight into the economy in support of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy function.

Kelly joined Southwest Airlines in 1986 as controller, eventually progressing to president and CEO, and later executive chairman in 2022.

He serves on the Lincoln National Corporation board, Southwestern Medical Foundation Board of Trustees, and Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum board. He is past chairman of Airlines for America.

He was appointed in 2022 to the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness under the Department of Commerce and is a current member of the Business Council.

Kelly received the 2020 Philanthropic Leadership Award from the Ireland Funds and the 2017 Wings Club Distinguished Achievement Award. He is a 2017 Junior Achievement Dallas Business Hall of Fame Laureate inductee, a 2016 inductee into the Texas Business Hall of Fame and received the 2016 Tony Jannus Award, which recognizes extraordinary accomplishments in the field of commercial aviation.

He was twice named D CEO magazine’s CEO of the Year and has been named one of the best CEOs in America by Institutional Investor magazine three times. In 2010, Kelly received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Texas at Austin and was inducted in 2013 into UT’s McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame. He received the 2013 McLane Leadership in Business Award from Texas A&M University.

Kelly earned a BBA in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a former CPA.

Each Federal Reserve Bank has a nine-member board of directors. Three members represent commercial banks, three represent the public and three are appointed by the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C.

For more information on the Dallas Fed, visit www.dallasfed.org.

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Media contact:
James Hoard
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Phone: 214-922-5307
Email: james.hoard@dal.frb.org