Jake Cefolia biography: 13 things about Elmhurst, Illinois man

Jacob “Jake” Cefolia was a resident of Elmhurst, Illinois, United States. After attending Tara High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA and Covington High School in Covington, Louisiana, he earned his bachelor’s degree in management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.

Cefolia is a father of two. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. From 1996 to 1999, he worked for British Airways as an account manager.
2. In September 1999, he became an account manager at Northwest Airlines in Oregon, USA.
3. In 2001, he became a Northwest Airlines district sales manager. He led a team selling in highly contested markets in different parts of the U.S. including Arizona, California, Colorado and Nevada.
4. In 2004, he became a Northwest Airlines regional sales director He was responsible for sales not only in the central U.S. but also in Canada.
5. In February 2007, he left Northwest Airlines and became a United Airlines managing director of central region sales. He helped drive sales organization transformation while leading central U.S. and Canada sales function. 
6. In June 2009, he became United Airlines’ managing director in the Asia Pacific south region.
7. In January 2011, he became a United Airlines managing director of global accounts. He directed the sales and customer service efforts of the company’s global accounts division comprised of top 100 corporate accounts .
8. In January 2012, he visited Beaver Creek Mountain in Vail, Colorado. In March 2013, he visited The Baxter Inn in Sydney, Australia.
9. In January 2014, he became United Airlines’ vice president of Atlantic and Pacific sales. In October 2014, he visited Komagane, Nagano, Japan. 
10. In July 2015, he traveled to Japan with his daughter, his sister and his mother. In October 2015, he became United Airlines’ vice president of sales in the Americas.
11. In August 2018, he came United Airlines’ senior vice president of worldwide sales.
12. He was last seen alive on August 6, 2020 after he went out for a job in Chicago, Illinois. On August 8, 2020, he was reported missing.
13. On October 22, 2021, he was found hanging by a belt from an uprooted tree at the Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in Darien, Illinois. His driver’s license and wallet and a backpack with his personal effects were located at the scene and his vehicle was found parked near the forest preserve. He died at the age of 50.