Oscar Munoz
Personal Information
Southern California, United States
Education & Background
Pepperdine University (MBA)
Career Highlights
Wealth
Oscar Munoz (born January 5, 1959) is an American business executive and former chief executive officer of United Airlines from 2015 to 2020, becoming the first Latino CEO of a major U.S. Airline.[1]
Munoz's tenure was marked by a near-fatal heart attack just one month after assuming the CEO role, a life-saving heart transplant, and navigating the David Dao passenger dragging crisis in 2017.[2]
Early life and education
Oscar Munoz was born on January 5, 1959, in Southern California. He was the eldest of ten children in a Mexican-American family. He became the first person in his family to graduate from college.[3]
He earned his BS in Business from the University of Southern California in 1982 and later an MBA from Pepperdine University.[4]
Career
Early career
Munoz worked at Coca-Cola from 1986 to 1997, rising to Region Vice President of Finance and Administration. He subsequently worked at AT&T and CSX Corporation, serving as CSX's CFO and COO.[5]
United Airlines CEO (2015-2020)
On September 8, 2015, Munoz became United's CEO. On October 15, 2015, he suffered a heart attack and received a heart transplant on January 5, 2016 - his 57th birthday.[6]
In April 2017, the David Dao incident - where a passenger was violently dragged off a United flight - became a PR crisis. Munoz's initial "re-accommodate" response was widely criticized before he issued a full apology.[7]
He stepped down as CEO in May 2020.[8]
Personal life
Munoz is married to Cathy Munoz. They have four children. In 2023, he published his memoir "Turnaround Time."[9]
He currently serves on the boards of Salesforce, Univision, CBRE, and Archer Aviation.[10]
See also
References
- ↑ <ref>"United Airlines Names Oscar Munoz CEO".The Wall Street Journal.September 8, 2015.Retrieved December 15, 2025.</ref>
- ↑ <ref>"United CEO Heart Transplant".The New York Times.January 5, 2016.Retrieved December 15, 2025.</ref>
- ↑ <ref>"Oscar Munoz Biography".Forbes.Retrieved December 15, 2025.</ref>
- ↑ <ref>"Munoz USC Education".USC.Retrieved December 15, 2025.</ref>
- ↑ <ref>"Munoz Career Path".Reuters.Retrieved December 15, 2025.</ref>
- ↑ <ref>"Munoz Returns After Transplant".CNBC.March 14, 2016.Retrieved December 15, 2025.</ref>
- ↑ <ref>"United Airlines Passenger Incident".BBC News.April 11, 2017.Retrieved December 15, 2025.</ref>
- ↑ <ref>"Munoz Steps Down".The Wall Street Journal.Retrieved December 15, 2025.</ref>
- ↑ <ref>"Turnaround Time Book".Amazon.Retrieved December 15, 2025.</ref>
- ↑ <ref>"Munoz Board Service".Bloomberg.Retrieved December 15, 2025.</ref>