With over 22 years of management experience at some of the world’s biggest airlines, C. David Cush was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Virgin America on December 10, 2007.

David came to Virgin America from his position as Senior Vice President of Global Sales at American, where he was responsible for all sales activity worldwide, including Latin America, Europe and Asia. David also has significant operating experience, having held the position as Vice President of American’s St. Louis hub, where he was responsible for airport operations for more than 200 daily departures and over 7,000 employees. Prior to that, he was Vice President of International Planning and Global Alliances at American.

Over the course of his career, David has held key leadership roles overseeing all aspects of the airline business including Finance, Sales and Marketing, Customer Service and Operations.
In addition to 20 years with American, David served as Chief Operating Officer of Aerolineas Argentinas, the national carrier of Argentina.

David originally joined American in financial planning, and later he was assigned to American’s regional headquarters in London as Managing Director of Finance and Administration for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. From there, he became the Managing Director of Finance and Administration for Miami, the Caribbean and Latin America, and then Managing Director of the Caribbean and Central America, with marketing and operational responsibilities in those areas. Then, he moved to American’s corporate headquarters as Managing Director of International Planning.

David was born and raised in Shreveport, La. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Broadcast/Film and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, in 1982. A year later, he received a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from SMU.