Staff Report
Published Oct. 5, 2011

Sumter native and former Continental Airlines chairman and CEO Larry Kellner has been elected to the board of Boeing Co.

Kellner, 52, currently serves as president of Emerald Creek Group, a Houston-based private equity firm primarily focused on real estate in both Texas and California. His election to the Boeing board was announced Tuesday.

“Larry brings to our board significant industry experience spanning strategy, operations and finance,” said Jim McNerney, chairman, president and CEO of Boeing. "He understands the challenges our customers face in increasingly competitive markets, and we will benefit from having his perspective on our board."

Kellner, who will serve on the Boeing board's audit and finance committees, was chairman and CEO of Continental from 2004 through 2009. He joined the Houston-based airline in 1995 as CFO.

Chicago-based Boeing recently opened an assembly plant in North Charleston for the new 787 Dreamliner passenger plane.

Before joining Continental, Kellner was executive vice president and CFO of American Savings Bank, and executive vice president and chief financial officer of The Koll Company, a private real estate investment and construction firm.

Kellner graduated in 1981 magna cum laude with a business degree from the University of South Carolina, where he was president of the student body. In 1998, the school presented Kellner with the Distinguished Alumni Award.

In 2008, Kellner received the Tony Jannus Award for distinguished achievement in commercial air transportation. At Continental, Kellner was part of a team that turned around the company’s fortunes from one of the worst-performing airlines.

In 2009, Fortune magazine rated Continental No. 1 in its annual airline industry list of Most Admired Global Companies – an honor it had received for six straight years.

Kellner lives in the Houston area with his wife, Susan. They have four children.