Colleen Barrett is the President Emerita and Corporate Secretary of Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...

. She joined Southwest in 1978, having previously worked for several years as founder Herb Kelleher

Herb Kelleher

Herbert D. Kelleher is the co-founder, Chairman Emeritus, and former CEO of Southwest Airlines .-Life and career:...

's executive assistant at his law firm. She has served as Secretary

Secretary

A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...

 of the Corporation, as Vice President Administration from 1986 through 1990, and Executive Vice President from 1990 through 2001. Barrett has been consistently named and recognized as one of the most powerful American businesswomen. In October, 2007, she received the Tony Jannus Award

Tony Jannus Award

The Tony Jannus Award recognizes outstanding individual achievement in scheduled commercial aviation by airline executives, inventors and manufacturers, and government leaders. The award is conferred annually by the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society and was first bestowed in 1964 in Tampa,...

for distinguished achievement in commercial air transportation.

Barrett stepped down as President and Corporate Secretary of Southwest, effective July 16, 2008, but will remain an employee of the corporation through July 2013.

External links

• Articles by and about Colleen Barrett at FT Press
  FT Press
  FT Press , the book publishing imprint related to the Financial Times newspaper, creates books in the areas of General Business, Finance and Investing, Sales and Marketing, Leadership, Management and Strategy, Human Resources, and Global Business. FT Press is the publishing partner for Wharton...
  
  
• Executive profile at Bloomberg Businessweek
• Executive profile at Forbes
  Forbes
  Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
  
  
  • #52 Colleen Barrett, Most Powerful Women 2005
• The Importance of Culture, Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines, September 2011, on Barrett's founding of their Culture Committee
• Profile at LeaderNetwork.org