“As we prepare to enter a new decade, the passion, dedication and professionalism of Delta’s 90,000 people worldwide have positioned us as the airline that connects the world better than any other,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian told employees in a memo. “As we continue on our journey, it’s important that our leadership team continues to transform the customer experience and ensure long-term growth and success.”
Highlights of the new leadership team include:
Bill Lentsch, a 30-year Delta veteran, will head an integrated customer experience organization that oversees Delta’s customer-facing divisions. “Our customers are at the center of everything we do, and Bill will align the functions that power our journey to transform air travel into an experience our customers enjoy,” Ed wrote.
Gareth Joyce has been named Delta’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, responsible for Delta’s plan, announced on Profit Sharing Day, to invest $1 billion over the next decade to become the first carbon neutral globally, and serve as a responsible steward of our environment.
Eric Phillips will become Delta’s new Senior Vice President of Airport Customer Service and Cargo, bringing exceptional leadership skills and deep commercial experience to Delta’s largest customer-facing operational group.
Erik Snell will become head of Corporate Planning, a new function dedicated to ensuring that Delta’s operational and commercial organizations are fully aligned.
Gil West, Delta’s Chief Operating Officer, will focus on driving innovation across the business. In addition to his current responsibilities, his role will include leadership of Delta Portfolio Services, a new area that will include Delta’s portfolio of businesses and drive growth opportunities.
The changes are effective March 1. In his letter, Ed wrote that “I’m confident that our new leadership organization will drive us closer to delivering the very best airline experience to our customers and position us as leaders across the globe into the next decade and beyond.” Read the full letter below.
To: Delta Colleagues Worldwide
From: Ed Bastian, CEO
As we prepare to enter a new decade, the passion, dedication and professionalism of Delta’s 90,000 people worldwide have positioned us as the airline that connects the world better than any other. With our renowned reliability, spirit of service and values-led culture, Delta is truly becoming a trusted global brand, earning loyalty from our customers and winning new fans every day.
It’s important that our leadership team continues to transform the customer experience and ensure long-term growth and success throughout our journey. That’s why today I’m happy to announce the following changes to Delta’s leadership team:
The creation of an integrated customer experience organization, led by Bill Lentsch, a 30-year veteran of our company. In his new role as Chief Customer Experience Officer, Bill will lead Delta’s customer-facing divisions, including In-Flight Service, Airport Customer Service, Reservations and Customer Care, Product and Consumer Insight.
Our customers are at the center of everything we do, and Bill will align the functions that power our journey to transform air travel into an experience our customers enjoy. Bill, who will report directly to me, is truly a people-first leader, and his deep experience, combined with his spirit of service and innovation, makes him a perfect fit for this new responsibility.
Gareth Joyce is being named Delta’s first Chief Sustainability Officer. This position will oversee Delta’s plan, announced on Profit Sharing Day, to invest $1 billion over the next decade to become carbon neutral and serve as a responsible steward of our environment. In his new role, reporting to Tim Mapes, Gareth will be responsible for expanding our carbon reduction efforts, investing in projects to remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere, and engaging with partners, customers, industry colleagues and other stakeholders to advance sustainability and maximize our global impact.
Eric Phillips will become the new Senior Vice President of Airport Customer Service and Cargo bringing his exceptional leadership skills and deep commercial experience to our largest customer-facing operational group. Eric’s commercial insights and passion for Delta’s people and culture he has gained over his 22 years at Delta will help drive our famous customer service and reliability to new levels. Eric also will be appointed as a board member of Wheels Up, our private aviation partner, and will continue his important work as chairman of Delta’s Diversity & Inclusion Council. He will report to Bill.
Erik Snell will become head of Corporate Planning, a new function dedicated to ensuring that our operational and commercial organizations are fully aligned. In his new role, Erik will forge strong connections between our commercial planning and operational groups, making sure our people have the resources and investments they need to do their jobs and serve our customers better than ever. As part of his responsibilities, he will oversee the Operations and Customer Center, Operations Analysis and Performance, Operations Decision Science, Schedule Coordination Center and our One Delta program, continuing the great work begun by our corporate strategy organization to break down silos and enable our entire business to work better and more efficiently. He will report to Gil.
Finally, Gil West will focus on driving innovation across the business. In addition to continued oversight of Tech Ops, Flight Ops, Delta Connection, Fleet Planning and Corporate Safety and Security, Gil will lead Delta Portfolio Services, an exciting new area of our company that will include Delta’s portfolio of businesses and drive growth opportunities. These include our incubators of innovation and advancement, like the Delta Hangar, as well as our MRO business, Delta Flight Products and Delta Material Services. Gil also will continue his current role as Chief Operating Officer of Delta.
These leadership changes, effective March 1, reflect our intentional approach to continued development of enterprise leaders who bring cross-divisional perspectives. You’ll be hearing from your leaders in the coming days about other organizational changes related to this announcement. I’m confident that our new leadership organization will drive us closer to delivering the very best airline experience to our customers and position us as leaders across the globe into the next decade and beyond.
None of this would be possible without the commitment and dedication the 90,000 members of the Delta team demonstrate every day. Thank you for all you do for our customers and each other.
Recommended for you...
