Delta Air Lines appoints New Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer

Delta Air Lines has appointed John E. “Ned” Walker as senior vice president and Chief Communications Officer.

Walker, 56, joins Delta from Houston-based Continental Airlines where he served for 21 years as a leading communications strategist, most recently serving as senior vice president of Corporate Communications.

At Delta, Walker will report to Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson, serve as a member of the Corporate Leadership Team, and lead a team of professional communicators responsible for all worldwide internal and external communications.

“As Delta moves toward closing its merger with Northwest and creating the world’s leading airline, we are pleased to add one of the industry’s most seasoned and respected communicators to our senior management team,” said Delta CEO Richard Anderson. “Ned brings an unmatched depth of communications knowledge to Delta and will be a trusted counselor in what promises to be one of the most important eras of change in our industry. Ned joins a leadership team committed to maintaining Delta’s heritage of open, honest and direct communications with our employees, customers and shareholders, a key component of making Delta a great place to work and a great airline to fly.”

Walker holds a degree in mass communications from the University of Colorado at Boulder and is a former journalist, previously working with The Chicago Tribune-owned KWGN-TV in Denver. Walker serves on the Advisory Council of the College of Communications at the University of Texas at Austin and was chairman of the visitor relations subcommittee for the Super Bowl XXXVIII Host Committee.

In 1996, Walker was named Employee Communications All-Star by Inside PR.

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