Viggo Butler
Class of ‘64
Business Administration
Chairman
United Airports Limited

Viggo Butler received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Cal Poly Pomona in 1964 and completed his education with a master's degree in the same subject from Pepperdine University. An international expert in the privatization of government enterprises, airport operations, and security, Butler has worked with government officials at the highest level in America and Europe, including seven U.S. presidents and nine foreign prime ministers and presidents. The genesis of his extraordinary career began at Cal Poly Pomona.

“The teaching in the business classes related to real world concepts,” says Butler, who singles out the university's ‘learn by doing' philosophy as a vital educational tool. “And running the school dance band was also good entrepreneurial experience.”

Butler, who was born in Belfast, Ireland, spent 23 years at Lockheed Air Terminal and Airport Group International, retiring in 1995. He spent 11 years as president for that organization, concurrently serving as corporate vice president for the main entity, Lockheed Corporation. Retirement proved fleeting, as Butler is currently the chairman of United Airports Limited, a privately held company specializing in airports, security and aviation technology. He is often a featured speaker at international forums, including the World Economic Forum, at which he spoke alongside England 's former prime minister, Lady Margaret Thatcher. Despite his intense business schedule, Butler is actively involved in community and education service projects.

“I believe in giving back to society a little of what was given to me,” says Butler, who is currently a commissioner for the Los Angeles County Quality & Productivity Commission, a member of the executive committee of the L.A. Economics Development Corporation, and a member of the Aviation Task Force for the Southern California Association of Governments.

At Cal Poly Pomona, he has been a member of the President's Council, the College of Business Administration Advisory Council, and currently sits on the Board of Visitors. Butler, who is Lord Butler, Lord of Cretingham in the U.K., lives in Chatsworth with his wife, Judith.