Delta Names New President in Executive Shuffle

Airline also appoints new COO and CFO as longtime operations chief retires.

Matt Ryan

Thursday, March 05, 2026 at 11:45 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: Zach Vasile

[Credit: Delta Air Lines]

Key Takeaways:

Delta Air Lines announced significant leadership changes, promoting Peter Carter to President with expanded responsibilities including enterprise strategy, global policy, and sustainability, following the retirement of former President Glen Hauenstein.
Longtime operations leader John Laughter is retiring, leading to Dan Janki transitioning from Chief Financial Officer to Chief Operating Officer, overseeing various operational divisions.
Further executive appointments include Erik Snell becoming Chief Financial Officer, Ranjan Goswami named Chief Marketing and Product Officer, and Alain Bellemare also taking on the role of Chairman of Delta TechOps.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Delta Air Lines announced several major leadership changes Thursday, including the promotion of Peter Carter to president, following the retirement of former Delta President Glen Hauenstein last month. According to Delta, Carter will take on expanded responsibilities overseeing enterprise strategy in addition to global policy and legal affairs, the airline’s international portfolio, real estate and sustainability initiatives.

In a memo to employees, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said Carter “has led initiatives that touch many important aspects of Delta’s business, and has been a constant source of strategic insight and long-term vision that will be essential to the company’s future success.”

Carter previously served as Delta’s executive vice president and chief external affairs officer, overseeing legal, regulatory, government affairs, sustainability and international policy teams.

The leadership changes also come as longtime operations leader John Laughter prepares to retire April 30 after more than three decades with the airline. Laughter most recently served as executive vice president, chief of operations and president of Delta TechOps.

“[Laughter] has led Delta’s teams through some of the most challenging and exciting times in our history,” Bastian said. “Most importantly, John has always been known as a servant leader and advocate for Delta’s people-focused culture. I want to personally thank John for all he has done to serve our employees, our customers and our communities during his tenure at Delta.”

Following Laughter’s retirement, Dan Janki will move from chief financial officer to chief operating officer, overseeing operational divisions including flight operations, airport customer service, in-flight service, reservations, technical operations and corporate safety organizations.

Delta also announced that Erik Snell will become chief financial officer and that Ranjan Goswami will assume the role of chief marketing and product officer, while Alain Bellemare, executive vice president and president of international, will also take on duties as chairman of Delta TechOps.