Quirky CEO

Last week Herb Kelleher, the co-founder of Southwest Airlines, passed away, ushering-in a steady stream of memorials and upbeat obituaries for a man who the New York Times credited with a “quirky” style that yielded steady profits. He was famous for his devotion to Wild Turkey, riding his Harley, and chain-smoking. But more importantly, under his watch, SW has reported profits for each of the past 45 years in an industry famous for boom and bust performance. As I explored what distinguished Herb from other executives, I found that he excelled for a number of rather simple and straightforward reasons.

His first secret was to put employees first — he remembered birthdays, comforted them in their sorrows, let them take figure out how to solve problems, all of which he said made them want to please customers and fostered a powerful company spirit.

Secondly, he kept things simple. SW is famous for delivering for its customers great service and the basics; affordable travel for more people and reliability in an industry recognized for unreliable service. Herb even wrote his own responses to angry customers. He really was a very special executive. I enjoy learning about great leaders and what makes them great. Herb Kelleher is close to the top of my list.

Job Listings

ALLIANCE CAPITAL REAL ESTATE GROUP, INC. Principal Executive, Asset Advisor, Capital Raising Specialist (CHICAGO, IL) Principal will have established equity and capital relationships throughout the United States and/or Internationally; possess operations and capital type connections or has lead capital raising activities individually or in concert with other capital market colleagues; and have direct relationships with high net worth, family office, insurance companies, pension funds etc.  

PEGASUS ASSET MANAGEMENT Accounting Manager (LOS ANGELES, CA) Duties include: managing all property level financial planning, reporting, accounting operations; preparing client reports, lender reports, and property budgets; and coordinating day-to-day accounting functions including but not limited to AP/AR.  

APAH Real Estate Project Manager (ARLINGTON, VA) Position will manage real estate project execution, including entitlement, financing and construction of affordable housing properties within Arlington, working closely with public agency staff, lenders, partners and consultants. Duties also include preparing financial projections and applications, and coordinating the work of the project team, including the design, construction, legal and financing specialists.  

PROPERTY INCOME ADVISORS, INC. Senior Accountant (SAN DIEGO, CA) Role will manage the processing of accounts payable and accounts receivable, create and post journal entries, complete monthly bank and loan statement reconciliations and prepare monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements.  

JLL Vice President – Capital Markets (LOS ANGELES, CA)Vice President will lead the JLL Capital Markets Analyst Pool. The Capital Markets Analyst Pool provides investment brokerage, advisory and investment banking services to institutions, public companies, fund managers, financial institutions and property developers. Individual will be the regional market player/coach leader for the national platform.  

ENVOY NET LEASE PARTNERS Chief Operating Officer (NORTHBROOK, IL)COO will negotiate and review purchase contracts, leases, loan documents, development-related agreements and joint venture and partnership documents. Position will also oversee the preparation of private placement memorandums and related documents.  

FLAGSHIP HEALTHCARE PROPERTIES Vice President Property Management (CHARLOTTE, NC)VP will have direct responsibility for managing and supporting all aspects of the operation within the Carolinas region efficiently and consistent with FHP standards. Position will be responsible for continued growth through fostering relationships with existing clients, identifying new business opportunities and evaluating and adjusting the portfolio to maximize overall NOI and ensuring success of the region.  

RUBENSTEIN PARTNERS Director of Research (PHILADELPHIA, PA)Position will focus on standard areas of research including market information (i.e. rents, vacancies, etc.) but will also specifically focus transformative ideas within the office sector. This position will take advantage of a platform solely focused on the office sector and generate applied research by tracking how product is being purchased and operated in today’s environment.  

USAA REAL ESTATE Development Analyst (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) RealCo is seeking to appoint an Analyst within the Amsterdam office to support the development team. In this role, Analyst will support and be directly involved in the management and coordination of multi-country logistics real estate portfolios.  

LMC Vice President of Multifamily Real Estate Development (STAMFORD, CT)The Vice President of Development will be responsible for leading the development team on executing all functions of development for multifamily and mixed-use real estate projects with a focus on planning, entitlement, financial analysis, and overall management of the development process from inception to stabilization for division.