ATLANTA, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines,
Inc. (NYSE: DAL) Board of Directors today announced that
Richard H. Anderson has chosen to
retire as CEO effective May 2,
2016. At that time, Mr. Anderson will be elevated to
Executive Chairman of the Delta Air Lines Board of Directors.
"Richard has been an outstanding leader and CEO. His unique
combination of strategic and operating skills, plus his commitment
to employees, corporate culture, customers and shareholders has
redefined Delta and led to an entirely new and better way of flying
around the world. Under Richard's leadership, Delta has
become the most profitable and best run airline that consistently
delivers excellent customer service. The entire Board of
Directors extends a hearty thanks for his service, his leadership
and his thoughtful succession planning process. This
succession plan has been several years in the making and will keep
Delta on top of the global industry," said Dan Carp, Chairman of the Board.
Ed Bastian, President of Delta,
will be appointed CEO effective May 2,
2016 and Glen Hauenstein,
Executive Vice President, will be appointed President of Delta,
also effective May 2, 2016.
Gil West is promoted immediately to
Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
"Ed has been a critical part of Delta's success. He is an
exceptional leader and has been an invaluable partner in leading
the remarkable transformation of Delta over the last decade.
Likewise, Glen and Gil are extraordinary leaders who have led the
transformation of Delta's network, product and operations. I
hold Ed, Glen and Gil in the highest esteem, both personally and
professionally, and have every confidence that they will lead Delta
to even higher levels of performance," said Richard Anderson. "Ed Bastian will lead the best management team in
the global industry. Delta's succession planning and
executive development has produced the top performing executive
team in the global airline industry," said Dan Carp, Chairman of the Delta Board of
Directors.
Effective immediately, the Board of Directors also appoints
Steve Sear, President International
and Executive Vice President Global Sales. Steve will lead
the Atlantic, Asia-Pacific, and
Latin America organizations in
addition to global sales.
Upon Richard Anderson's
appointment as Executive Chairman on May 2,
2016, Frank Blake, a current
Delta Director, will be appointed Lead Director of the Delta Air
Lines Board of Directors. Dan
Carp will step down as non-executive Chairman and remain on
the Board of Directors of Delta. "Dan
Carp has been an excellent mentor and colleague as the
Chairman of Delta since 2007, overseeing the remarkable resurgence
of Delta as the recognized leader of the global aviation business,"
said Richard Anderson.
Delta Air Lines serves nearly 180 million customers each year.
Delta was named to FORTUNE magazine's top 50 World's Most Admired
Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for
the fourth time in five years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1
in the Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for an
unprecedented five consecutive years. With an industry-leading
global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer
service to 328 destinations in 57 countries on six continents.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta
employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline
fleet of more than 800 aircraft. The airline is a founding member
of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's
leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and
Alitalia as well as a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including
its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than
15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including
Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St.
Paul, New York-JFK and LaGuardia, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake
City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of
dollars in airport facilities, global products and services, and
technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the
ground. Additional information is available on the Delta News Hub,
as well as delta.com, Twitter @DeltaNewsHub, Google.com/+Delta,
Facebook.com/delta and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.
Photo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160203/329451
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090202/DELTALOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/delta-announces-executive-succession-300214882.html
SOURCE Delta Air Lines