Jim Lynde is a business and human resources/culture leader whose career has focused on growing talent, building culture/commitment and improving workforce performance in both hospitality and airlines. He has held CHRO/HR leadership roles with Red Lobster, Hawaiian Airlines, Starwood/Westin Hotel and Resorts, Spirit Airlines and others.

He began his career with PG&E Corp. He currently leads the People team for Avelo Airlines, a new US airline operating on both West and East Coasts. Avelo Airlines started during Covid-19, is growing rapidly, and is inspiring travel by helping customers save time and money. With Darden Restaurants as SVP, People for Red Lobster, Jim led implementation of a new vision, values, and metrics to transform Red Lobster into a customer-focused, operationally excellent business. Red Lobster’s guest experience and loyalty grew from dead last in its competitive set to top quartile and earnings increased by over 300%. Red Lobster was recognized twice for the "Best People Practices" in the industry (based on quantitative results in retention, diversity and other metrics). While leading the HR function for Unisource Worldwide ($6B distribution business, owned by Bain Capital), he led a cross-functional team to develop and implement a new business model for 50% of the business’s customers (who were unprofitable). That initiative grew EBITDA by over $60mm and put the business in the black for the first time in 5 years.

Jim holds a M.S. in Industrial Relations from the University of Oregon and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Riverside. He earned the Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) designation early in his career.