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).

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 for a time as President and CEO of that airline.

Gallagher is best known 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).

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. [1]

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.[2]

Personal

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.[3]

Philanthropic

Gallagher has made at least two prominent donations to the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. The first was for a 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.[4]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/ipos/company/mpower-communications-corp-7426-4681 Nasdaq record accessed Oct 31, 2015
  2. ↑ http://edgar.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1362468/000136246815000018/a2015schedule14adoc.htm DEF14A SEC filing by Allegiant dated 30 April, 2015 accessed Oct 31, 2015
  3. ↑ Wolkin, Joseph (April 14, 2015). "Spencer Gallagher rising through the ranks". motorsport.com. motorsport.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  4. ↑ http://gsm.ucdavis.edu/gallagher UC Davis articles on Gallagher, accessed Oct 31, 2015
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