Frederick Reid

From early 2004 until December 2007, Fred launched Virgin America, the newest U.S. based airline. Serving as the founding Chief Executive Officer, Fred created the original business plan, raised over $177 million in start-up equity, recruited the executive team and 800 employees, and shepherded the venture through the FAA and DOT certification. Since beginning commercial flights, Virgin America has been rated #1 in First Class and #2 overall for U.S. domestic carriers by Zagat. In December 2007, Fred was named Executive of the Year by the San Francisco Business Times.

Prior to founding Virgin America, Fred was for four years the President and Chief Operating Officer of Delta Airlines and for three years, Delta's Chief Marketing Officer. During eight years at Lufthansa German Airlines, Fred rose from Senior Vice President, The Americas to President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Lufthansa, Fred served in a variety of positions with AMR Corporation and Pan American World Airways, in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

At Delta, Fred created Song Airlines, the carrier's low-fare subsidiary, and was responsible for both Delta Connection, the world's largest fleet of regional jets, and for SkyTeam, Delta's global airline alliance. At Delta, Fred directed the acquisitions of ASA and Comair Airlines. At Lufthansa, Fred developed Lufthansa's strategic international alliances and helped privatize the airline, ultimately returning the airline to profitability.

Throughout his career at various airlines, Fred had extensive experience with internal and external travel, lodging, catering and foodservice operations. Fred was on the board of directors of Paris-based Wingate Travel, a large tour operator in which Pan Am was an equity partner. Fred sat on the Board of Directors of Hudson General, a U.S. based provider of airport ground services as well as serving on the Board of Directors of Lufthansa Service Group, an in-flight and travel catering company with over 200 locations and 11,000 employees worldwide. During the early phases of his career, Fred worked at Indian Hotelsa Co., managed a travel agency, and founded Business Centers International, which built and managed office suites and provided business services at facilities in New York and Bahrain.

Fred currently serves on the Board of Directors of AMB Property Corporation, a $1.5 billion public REIT that owns and operates airport properties across the globe. He has also served on the Boards of the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Currently, Fred sits on the Board of Directors of the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's disease & The Aging Brain.

Fred is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and the University d'Aix-Marseilles Language Studies. He has lived in eight countries and speaks three languages.