Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr.

Maurice J. Gallagher Jr.
Nationality American
Occupation CEO and Chairman, Allegiant Travel Company
Known for Commercial airline entrepreneur
Children 2

Maurice J. Gallagher Jr., also known as Maury Gallagher, is a serial entrepreneur who has been associated with the startup and operation of three airlines, WestAir, ValuJet and Allegiant Air (subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Company). Two of Gallagher's three aviation companies, ValuJet and Allegiant Air, have been associated with safety violations and investigations, with the former being involved in a fatal air crash killing over one hundred people.[1]

Biography

Gallagher was a founder of WestAir, which operated from 1978 through 1992, when it was sold to Mesa Air. WestAir functioned as the west-coast commuter/regional airline affiliate of United Airlines.

After WestAir, Gallagher joined the investment group that founded ValuJet in 1993. He functioned as President and CEO of that airline until a deadly 1996 crash resulting from safety violations killed all 110 passengers on board, an incident from which the company never recovered.[2][3][1]

Gallagher is best known today as the CEO and Chairman of Allegiant Travel Company, and its major subsidiary, Allegiant Air. Gallagher was the major creditor of the then small, Fresno-based scheduled airline in 2000 when it declared bankruptcy. He gained control of the airline as a result of the bankruptcy and later became CEO and Chairman. Under his leadership, the airline changed headquarters to Las Vegas and eventually evolved a unique business model of flying older large commercial aircraft from small cities around the US to large leisure destinations (initially Las Vegas, later Orlando, Phoenix, St Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale and other cities).

In May 2016, the FAA confirmed that Allegiant was under investigation for possible safety violations,[4][3] drawing comparisons to the ValuJet crash twenty years earlier.[1]

Gallagher has been involved in many other entrepreneurial activities, not all of them aviation-related. For instance, in between his time at ValuJet and Allegiant, he founded and had leadership positions at Mpower Communications, a CLEC that IPOd in 1998.[5]

Gallagher remains a substantial shareholder of Allegiant. The Allegiant proxy statement filed in April 2015 indicates he is a 21.3% shareholder, the single largest shareholder of record. The same document indicates a substantial number of related party transactions between Allegiant and Gallagher, relating to Gallagher's ownership participation in Allegiant's former headquarters, sponsorship by Allegiant of the racing activities of Gallagher's son, payments by Allegiant, through a subsidiary, to a TV production company partially owned by Gallagher and payments by Allegiant to a corporate training firm controlled by Gallagher.[6]

He is the 2015 recipient of the Tony Jannus Award for distinguished achievement in commercial air transportation.

Philanthropic

Gallagher has made at least two prominent donations to the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. The first was for an endowed chair in the name of he and his wife, the second was a $10mm donation which prompted the school to name its new building the Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr. Hall. In 2011, Gallagher gave the commencement address for the UC Davis business school.[7]

Personal life

Gallagher is married. His wife's name is Marcia. Maury and Marcia Gallagher have two children, one of whom, Spencer Gallagher is currently a race car driver.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Levesque, William R. (18 March 2016). "Are maintenance problems at Allegiant Air the result of an airline growing too fast?". The Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  2. ↑ Halsey III, Ashley; Mufson, Steven (1 September 2016). "Allegiant Air, with ultra-low fares, draws FAA's attention over safety concerns". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 Phillips, Don (28 May 1996). "FIRE REACHED VALUJET CABIN IN 6 MINUTES". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  4. ↑ http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/airlines/faa-confirms-it-is-reviewing-allegiant-air-operations/2274997
  5. ↑ "MPOWER COMMUNICATIONS CORP (MGCX) IPO". NASDAQ.com. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  6. ↑ "2015 Schedule 14A Doc". edgar.sec.gov. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  7. ↑ "About Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr. - UC Davis Graduate School of Management". gsm.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  8. ↑ Wolkin, Joseph (April 14, 2015). "Spencer Gallagher rising through the ranks". motorsport.com. motorsport.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
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