FORT WORTH, Texas - John Tippets, CEO of the $4.7-billion American Airlines Federal Credit Union, was 2 years old when his father survived a plane crash in Alaska. Tippets remembers his dad sharing a story of survival, and how he and a group of passengers on a flight from Seattle to Anchorage fought to stay alive for 29 days before being rescued.
That story had a significant impact on the CEO’s life–and how he runs the credit union.
“That experience helped my father and my mother appreciate every day of their lives,” Tippets said. “And I think my father, from the day he was rescued forward, wanted to give back to people even more...We are all products of our upbringing, and everything my father did had an impact on me. I inherited a lot of my attitudes toward life from him.”
Tippets recently shared his father’s story during “A Night With The CEO,” a special event for CU members and the public at Fort Worth’s C.R. Smith Museum. “Last month was the 65th anniversary of my father’s rescue,” Tippets said. “I felt it was a good time to share the story.”
The credit union likes holding events at the museum, Tippets explained. “It has special significance to our credit union. They have a restored vintage DC3 airplane there and our credit union was formed only one month after American Airlines started flying the DC3.”
After 17 years at the CU, Tippets will retire this June. “There’ll be plenty of time to talk about my career then,” he said.
