The FINANCIAL — At a meeting on September 23, the Board of Directors of Southwest Airlines appointed Dr. Thomas W. Gilligan as a member of the Board.
Dr. Gilligan currently serves as the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University, a position he has held since Sept. 2015. The Hoover Institution is a public policy research center devoted to the advanced study of economics, politics, history, and political economy as well as international affairs, according to Southwest Airlines.
“Tom is a special person with a brilliant mind and a passion for serving others who will be an invaluable addition to our Board of Directors,” said Gary Kelly, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer for Southwest Airlines. “Tom brings with him a wealth of knowledge, experience, and leadership in finance, economics, and business administration that will benefit our Board and our Company. We’re thrilled to welcome him onboard.”
Prior to his appointment at the Hoover Institution, Dr. Gilligan served as the Dean of the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin from 2008 to Aug. 2015, where he also held the Centennial Chair in Business Education Leadership.
Dr. Gilligan has held several key administrative roles at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (USC) between 1987 and 2008, including interim Dean, the Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Education, director of the Ph.D. program, and the Chair of the Finance and Business Economics Department. During his tenure at USC, he held visiting appointments at Stanford University (1989-1990 and 1994) and Northwestern University (1995-1996). From 1984 to 1987, Dr. Gilligan taught Economics at the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Gilligan was a staff economist at the Council of Economic Advisers in the White House from 1982 to 1983; and he served in the United States Air Force from 1972 to 1976. Dr. Gilligan also currently serves on the Board of Directors of KB Home. He received his B.A. in 1979 at the University of Oklahoma and his Ph.D. in Economics at Washington University in 1984.
