Source: Delta Air Lines
Delta CEO Ed Bastian will be joined by Tristan Walker, the founder and CEO of Walker & Company Brands, for a discussion about servant leadership, representation and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion. The conversation will launch Gaining Altitude, a new video series from Delta that tackles conversations worth navigating and connects people while building understanding across the globe.
This first episode will stream live on May 26 from 1-2 p.m. EDT.
In Gaining Altitude, Bastian will host one-on-one conversations with insightful leaders across industries about topics that matter to our world – including servant leadership, entrepreneurship, sustainability, mental health and diversity, equity and inclusion, among others. Episodes will broadcast live via Delta.com/GainingAltitude, giving everyone an opportunity to connect and engage directly with Bastian and guests via moderated Q&A.
These conversations are not new for the airline, which connects people globally through travel. In the midst of one of the most stressful periods for travel in modern history due to an ongoing pandemic, the world has also faced a reckoning over historic racial inequality and injustice. As part of the airline’s efforts to become an anti-racist, anti-discrimination organization, Bastian confronted the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion head-on in a series of honest and meaningful Town Hall discussions with employees and community leaders – giving Delta people the opportunity to listen, grow their understanding and drive change.
“The pandemic slowed us all down, giving us some extra space and time for reflection and enabled us all to be quieter to hear and to see the challenge our Black community is facing,” Bastian said. “At Delta, our 75,000 employees are a family. How can I talk about family if there’s a part of my family that needs help to which I’ve not been attuned? It raised a commitment level and awareness within me that has been very personal.”
Previous Town Halls with Bryan Stevenson, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Dr. Bernice King and Ambassador Andrew Young are available on Delta Studio® through July 31.
Delta’s first Gaining Altitude guest, Walker, is the Founder and CEO of Walker & Company Brands and became the first Black CEO under the Procter & Gamble umbrella in its 180-year history after being acquired in 2018. He is also the Founder of Code2040, a program that matches high-performing Black and Latino undergraduate and graduate coders and software engineering students with Silicon Valley start-ups for summer internships.
Future guests will be announced on an ongoing basis.
“The conversations we’ve been having during our employee Town Halls have been vulnerable, real and about learning,” Bastian said. “And I’m looking forward to expanding these impactful conversations to include more topics and reach our customers and communities.”
These episodes will be available on Delta Studio® starting October 21. An audio-only version will also be offered as a podcast for easy listening in the near future. Sign-up for live episode reminders and podcast updates on Delta.com/GainingAltitude.