Pepperdine Graziadio Alumnus and Recent United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz (MBA '86) Shares Personal Stories About Pepperdine Graziadio, Tenure as CEO of United Airlines and Book: Turnaround Time

Oscar Munoz (MBA '86), a Pepperdine Graziadio alumnus, and recent United Airlines CEO, authored a new book, Turnaround Time, which chronicles his experience leading the company, navigating internal battles, public relations crises, and global industry shifts.   

As the CEO of a Fortune-500 company, responsible for the livelihoods of 90,000 hard-working professionals around the world, Munoz describes how his decisions affect every person he serves. 

“I can’t merely look at a balance sheet and call it a day,” said Munoz. “I also have to balance the interests of competing constituencies. I have to balance my obligations to my shareholders, my investors, my customers, the communities and countries we connect, and my employees. Sometimes these duties align. Sometimes, they are in tension. And, when they are, the only north-star to guide you is your experiences, the people who helped form your character, and the values they’ve instilled in you.

The focus of my book is not me, but the employees whom I was privileged to lead. When it comes to turning around aircraft hundreds of times per day or turning around a company – both require a united team to do it well. It’s about how our team found a way to overcome divisions, turn itself around, reinvent itself, inspire itself, and emerge as a truly “United” airline, and how other organizations can do the same.

Of course, an MBA education like the one I received has set me apart and opened doors for me. But, it’s not enough to just have doors open; you need to know what you want to accomplish when you’ve walked through them. That’s what I gained at Pepperdine. A vision; a philosophy; a mission. It’s something I call “Duty to Care.”

To learn more about Munoz’s story and his book, please visit Turnaround Time.