Delta Air Lines has promoted Nathaniel Pieper to the position of Senior Vice President – Europe, Middle East and Africa effective in August 2015. He replaces Perry Cantarutti who will leave Delta on secondment to the SkyTeam global airline alliance to assume the position of Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director.
Based in Paris, Pieper will have accountability for all of Delta’s Europe, Middle East and Africa commercial activities, including maximizing the long-term growth opportunities for Delta’s joint venture agreement with Air France KLM and Alitalia – the industry’s largest trans-Atlantic alliance – as well as the partnership with Virgin Atlantic Airways. Pieper will report to Delta’s president, Ed Bastian.
“Nat’s outstanding record of strategic fleet management, combined with his experience of forging world-class partnerships, will keep Delta on course for success on the trans-Atlantic, continuing the great work achieved under Perry Cantarutti,” said Ed Bastian.
An aviation industry veteran with 18 years’ experience, Pieper was previously Delta’s Vice President of Fleet Strategy and Transactions, responsible for strategy, analysis, acquisition, disposition and investment in Delta’s 1300 mainline and regional aircraft. Over the past five years, Delta has acquired more than 400 aircraft as part of its fleet optimization strategy, during which Pieper led seven aircraft acquisition campaigns.
Having joined Northwest Airlines’ Finance department in 1997, Pieper held a number of leadership roles at Northwest including Vice President –Alliances, where he led Northwest’s innovative trans-Atlantic joint venture with KLM. He also served as Vice Chairman of SkyTeam.
Pieper holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Duke University and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance, strategy and transportation management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Delta Air Lines serves more than 170 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 four consecutive years, a first for any airline. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 327 destinations in 60 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 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 newly formed 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, New York-LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta, Facebook.com/delta and Delta’s blog takingoff.delta.com.
