By Rajesh Kumar Singh
CHICAGO, March 5 (Reuters) – Delta Air Lines on Thursday announced a broad leadership shake-up, naming Chief Financial Officer Dan Janki as chief operating officer and promoting Peter Carter to president as the carrier prepares for the retirement of longtime operations chief John Laughter.
The changes take effect on April 1. Laughter, who oversees Delta’s day-to-day operation and its TechOps maintenance arm, will remain with the airline through April 30.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said Laughter helped rebuild the TechOps business after Delta’s 2005 bankruptcy, guided its integration with Northwest Airlines, and steered the carrier’s operations through the COVID-19 crisis.
In his new job, Janki will take charge of major parts of the airline’s operation, including flight operations, in-flight service, reservations, customer care, and safety and security. Delta said Erik Snell, now chief customer experience officer, will replace Janki as finance chief.
Carter will become president, adding enterprise strategy to his responsibilities for global policy and legal matters, Delta’s international portfolio, real estate, and sustainability and diversity teams.
Delta also said Alain Bellemare will become chairman of Delta TechOps, while Chief Marketing Officer Alicia Tillman is departing the company. Ranjan Goswami will assume the expanded role of chief marketing and product officer.
Bastian said the changes reflected Delta’s management depth and its effort to develop the leaders who will guide the airline in the years ahead.
The latest moves further reshape Delta’s senior ranks after President Glen Hauenstein, the architect of its premium‑focused commercial strategy, retired last month.
Bastian, however, has said publicly he has no plans to retire and intends to remain at Delta for the foreseeable future.
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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