Glenn Tilton (born April 1948, in Washington, D.C.) was Midwest Chairman and a member of the Executive Committee, at JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), a position he has held from June 6, 2011 to 2014. Tilton was formerly non-executive Chairman of United Continental Holdings Inc., (NYSE:UAL), the parent company of United Air Lines, Inc. and Continental Airlines, Inc. as of October 1, 2010. Tilton was formerly Chairman, President, and CEO of UAL Corporation from 2002-2010.
Tilton is also the former Chairman of the Air Transport Association, the industry trade organization representing U.S. airlines.
Tilton grew up in Latin America, and attended high school in Brazil, where his father worked for the United States' Central Intelligence Agency. After earning a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of South Carolina, Tilton wanted to start a career in the airline industry, but was warned against it by a family friend, the manager of the Pan American Airways Latin America Division. Tilton listened to the friend's advice and went on to follow his father's footsteps and join the C.I.A. but months before his start date, Tilton began a career in the private sector working for Texaco in 1970, servicing gas stations throughout Washington, D.C.
Tilton attained positions of increasing responsibility over the next three decades, and in early 2001 Tilton was briefly named chairman and chief executive officer before Chevron and Texaco merged to form ChevronTexaco Corporation. He was named vice chairman of the newly merged company in late 2001 and a few months later he was also named interim chairman of Dynegy, in which ChevronTexaco held a significant stake.
In September 2002, Tilton was recruited by the Board of Directors of the struggling UAL Corporation to be Chairman, President, and CEO, replacing John W. Creighton Jr. as Chairman and CEO, and Rono Dutta as President. The board believed that an airline outsider such as Tilton could turnaround the struggling carrier. UAL Corporation and its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy in December 2002, three months into Tilton's tenure.