Word: burr
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...Burr went on to earn an economics degree at Stanford and a Harvard M.B.A. He always had a fascination with airlines, and so at 24 he took a job at Wall Street's National Aviation, a mutual fund dealing in airline securities. Six years later, after proving an astute stock picker, he became its president. He left in 1973 to join troubled Texas International Airlines and rose to be chief operating officer within three years. One of his first steps was to begin trying out radical fare discounts to boost business. But Burr soon began to form a more revolutionary...
...absolutely fearless," a member of People's board of directors observes. "He takes business risks that are unbelievable." As he assembled People Express in Newark, the new boss used Army-style screening tests to make sure job applicants had the same daring spirit that he did. By November 1980 Burr had gathered together a band of renegades who were attracted by People's you're-the-boss structure. They included a flight scheduler and a personnel manager. The new company issued stock, raising enough cash to buy 17 used 737 jets. Five months later People Express made its maiden flight...
Since then People's rapid growth has put immense pressure on Burr. A member of People's board of directors even feared that the company's acquisition of Frontier in October might be "a bridge too far for him" in terms of work load. Indeed, Burr often rises as early as 5:30 a.m. and begins work in the study of his white clapboard home in Bernardsville, N.J. There he toils all day Mondays, usually wearing a flannel shirt, baggy jeans and deck shoes. During the rest of the week he dons a business suit and drives 40 minutes...
...Burr's three sons and daughter are forgiving about his long hours, although they have complained that he does not permit his family the free flying privileges that most airline executives give their children. Burr and his wife Bridget, who was a cheerleader for his high school basketball team, occasionally manage to take the family to their ski condo in Park City, Utah, and to a home on Martha's Vineyard...
...Burr can now afford a few such comforts. The 6.1% of People Express he holds is worth almost $13 million. Burr also takes time for a daily three-to-six-mile jog, during which he does his blue-sky thinking. He has run eleven marathons, including New York City's. His best performance on the 26.2-mile course: 3:40:42. That poses no threat to champion runners, but rival airline bosses might worry about what Burr is thinking on those long hauls. It was during a jog one morning in Houston that Burr came up with the concept...