FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  May 20, 2011

DALLAS/FORT WORTH – Don Carty, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Virgin America, has guided companies through turbulent times. This month on CEO, host Lee Cullum speaks with the veteran airline executive about his plans to pilot the airline to new heights despite soaring fuel prices. “This is a very tough business. There’s always something going on in this business that causes it to be disruptive,” says Carty. The former American Airlines chief executive also provides his personal account of the September 11, 2001, attacks and the moments that changed the airline industry, and America, forever. 

CEO with host Lee Cullum features insightful discussions with North Texas business leaders from the corporate and not-for-profit sectors about what it takes to make a company successful in today’s global marketplace and changing economy. The May episode featuring Don Carty airs Friday, May 27 at 7:00 p.m. on KERA TV with rebroadcasts Sunday, May 29 at 11:30 a.m. and Monday, May 30 at 10:30 p.m. CEO can be heard at 5:00 p.m. Sunday, May 29 on KERA FM. The program will be streamed online after broadcast at www.kera.org/ceo.

CEO is sponsored by Southwest Securities, Dell Perot System and the University of Texas at Dallas School of Management. For more information about Virgin America visit www.virginamerica.com.

ABOUT DON CARTY

Donald J. Carty is the retired Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Dell, Inc., a position he assumed in January 2007.  Before joining Dell, Mr. Carty retired in 2003 as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AMR Corporation and American Airlines.  He had served in that position since 1998.  Prior to that, he served as President of AMR Airline Group and American Airlines. Between 1989 and 1995, Carty was Executive Vice President-Finance and Planning for AMR and American Airlines, overseeing a broad range of strategic planning matters and a wide array of critical financial activities. Carty had been American’s Senior Vice President and Controller before leaving the airline in March 1985 to become President and CEO of CP Air in Canada.  In March of 1987, he returned to American and was elected Senior Vice President-Airline Planning. Carty is a graduate of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and of the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. In September of 2002, Carty was appointed by President Bush to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council where he served until the summer of 2005.

ABOUT CEO

Host Lee Cullum conducts insightful discussions with North Texas business leaders from the corporate and not-for-profit sectors about what it takes to make a company successful in today’s global marketplace and changing economy. CEO episodes are available on-demand at www.kera.org/ceo.

ABOUT KERA

KERA is a not-for-profit public media organization that serves the people of North Texas. The station broadcasts to the fourth-largest population area in the United States. KERA produces original multimedia content, carries the best in national and international public television and radio programs, and provides online resources at www.kera.org. The station’s extensive coverage of the arts can be found at www.artandseek.org. KERA-TV broadcasts on Channel 13.1. KERA WORLD broadcasts on 13.2. KERA-FM broadcasts on 90.1 in Dallas/Fort Worth/Denton, 88.3 in Wichita Falls, 100.1 in Tyler and 99.3 in Sherman. KXT 91.7 FM, KERA’s new music station, KXT 91.7, is streamed online at www.kxt.org.

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