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January 13, 2021 - by Edward Russell via Twitter (read all below)

Ed Bastian to Delta Colleagues Worldwide

Additions to our leadership team

As I shared in my New Year's Day memo to Delta people, we're looking ahead to 2021 as a year of recovery and rebuilding, even while we continue to navigate the perilous and ever-changing environment of the global pandemic. I'm happy today to announce two new leaders who will be critical to helping lead our recovery as we continue our journey as a trusted global brand known for innovation, service and people-focused culture.

Alain Bellemare will be joining us as President-International. With deep international experience running multi-billion-dollar aerospace organizations, Alain will lead our portfolio of international investments – working closely with our partners as they recover from the pandemic. Alain's goal will be to ensure Delta and our partners emerge as stronger and more resilient global brands. Alain will report directly to me.

Alain, 59, retired last year as President and Chief Executive Officer of aircraft manufacturer Bombardier. During his time there, he led the company through an extensive transformation that included the certification of the C Series, now known as the Airbus A220, and the Global 7500 business jet. Before joining Bombardier, Alain spent 18 years with United Technologies Corporation, serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of UTC Propulsion & Aerospace Systems. In this role, he led Pratt Whitney, as well as the acquisition of Goodrich, with its integration into Hamilton Sundstrand. For the past year, Alain has served as a senior advisor with the Carlyle Group, focused on the aerospace, defense and government sectors.

A Montreal native, Alain has two grown sons and currently lives in his hometown with his partner, Marie-Josee, and her two daughters. They plan to relocate to Atlanta.

In his new role, Alain will lead our international organization. Perry Cantarutti, S.V.P. – Alliances and International, and Matteo Curcio, V.P. – Asia Pacific, will report to Alain. Further alignment of roles within our international organization will be announced in the coming weeks.

Given the importance of our global sales team in the recovery, I've asked Steve Sear, E.V.P. – Global Sales, to focus his outstanding leadership on overseeing a global sales team that is second to none. Bob Somers, S.V.P. – Global Sales, and Kristen Shovlin, V.P. – Sales Operations and Development, will continue to report to Steve.

I'm also excited to announce that Michelle Horn will be joining us as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. In her new role, Michelle will lead the Corporate Strategy team as we recover from the pandemic and build a roadmap in line with our future vision. This includes identifying new opportunities, while planning for the uncertainties of our current environment, and driving high-priority initiatives across our divisions to support our success. Michelle's work will help ensure Delta leaves the pandemic in a strong leadership position within our industry. She will report directly to Peter Carter, with Sue Kolloru and team reporting to Michelle.

Michelle brings two decades of experience as a Partner at McKinsey, working on strategies for clients as well as working in the center of McKinsey's own client service transformation across the globe. Michelle comes most recently from Softbank, the Tokyo-based investor in fast growth technology companies, where she focused on scaling companies in that portfolio. Michelle served Delta for over a year earlier in her career and has been a long-time admirer of Delta's people, mission, and values-oriented culture.

Born in Bogota, Colombia and having lived in seven countries on five continents, Michelle's experience building, growing and transforming global businesses is well aligned with our mission to better connect the world. She currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and three children.

Alain and Michelle will complement Delta's already-deep leadership team, which has positioned our airline to accelerate our recovery and further our position as the trusted global brand within our industry. These additions to our team also reflect our commitment to servant leadership and our unique people-focused culture. In addition to their considerable experience, skills and strategic mindsets, Michelle and Alain have tremendous respect for our values and culture – ensuring everyone is always treated with dignity and respect.

Please join me in welcoming Alain and Michelle to the Delta family.

Ed

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