Oscar Munoz
Former United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz shares hard-earned lessons on leadership, culture, and leading organizations through defining moments.
Former United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz shares hard-earned lessons on leadership, culture, and leading organizations through defining moments.
Oscar Munoz is the former CEO and Chairman of United Airlines and a widely respected business leader known for navigating complexity with clarity and humanity. His career spans senior financial and operational roles at Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, AT&T, US West, and CSX Corp., giving him a broad view of how large organizations perform under pressure. As an author, board director, investor, and media contributor, Munoz brings a grounded, experience-driven voice to leadership, culture, governance, and long-term value creation.
Oscar Munoz built his career at the intersection of finance, operations, and leadership, rising to become CEO and Chairman of United Airlines. Across decades in senior executive roles, he developed a reputation for steady decision-making, accountability, and an employee-centered approach to leadership. His background includes high-impact positions at Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, AT&T, and US West, followed by serving as President and COO of CSX Corp., a major North American rail-based transportation supplier. These experiences shaped his ability to lead complex, regulated, and people-intensive organizations.
A first-generation college graduate, Munoz earned degrees from the University of Southern California and Pepperdine. His personal journey as an immigrant and the first person of Hispanic heritage to lead a U.S. airline informs his perspective on opportunity, responsibility, and inclusive leadership at the highest levels.
As CEO and Chairman of United Airlines, Oscar Munoz became known for placing culture and employee engagement at the center of performance. He led the company during a defining period, focusing on restoring trust, strengthening internal alignment, and reinforcing the link between how people are treated and how organizations perform. His leadership philosophy emphasized listening, accountability, and clear values, especially when facing public and operational challenges.
These lessons are captured in his Wall Street Journal best-selling memoir, Turnaround Time: Uniting an Airline and its Employees in the Friendly Skies, where Munoz offers an honest account of leadership under pressure and the importance of unity across large workforces.
Beyond his executive career, Oscar Munoz is deeply engaged in corporate governance and institutional leadership. He serves as a board director at Salesforce, TelevisaUnivision, Archer Aviation, the University of Southern California, and the Brookings Institution. He is also an independent trustee for Fidelity, contributing to oversight at one of the world’s most recognized investment firms.
These roles give Munoz a current and practical view of board dynamics, long-term strategy, risk management, and leadership accountability. His insights resonate strongly with executive teams, boards, and organizations navigating growth, transformation, or heightened expectations from stakeholders.
Oscar Munoz is a general partner at L’Attitude Ventures, a $100M+ institutional venture capital platform focused on early-stage innovative companies primarily owned and led by U.S. Latinos. His work in venture capital reflects a commitment to entrepreneurship, economic mobility, and supporting founders who bring new perspectives to established markets.
This investor lens complements his corporate experience, allowing Munoz to speak credibly about innovation, scaling responsibly, and aligning purpose with performance in both startups and global enterprises.
Organizations book Oscar Munoz for keynote addresses and executive conversations that are candid, grounded, and immediately relevant. His speaking topics often include leadership during crisis, culture as a performance driver, board-level decision-making, and building trust inside and outside the organization.
Audiences value his ability to translate real-world experience into practical lessons without abstraction. Whether addressing senior leaders, board members, or emerging executives, Munoz delivers clear perspectives shaped by accountability at the highest level.
Common themes in Oscar Munoz’s talks include:
Leadership and accountability in high-pressure environments
Building and sustaining culture at scale
Governance, trust, and stakeholder expectations
Personal leadership journeys and inclusive opportunity
In addition to his executive and board work, Oscar Munoz is a CNBC contributor, offering thoughtful commentary on business leadership, corporate responsibility, and market dynamics. His voice reflects experience rather than theory, making his insights especially relevant to decision-makers facing real constraints and competing priorities.
Recognized multiple times by Hispanic Business Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics,” Munoz’s career stands as a case study in resilience, preparation, and values-driven leadership.