Aviation
10 Delta Air Lines operations leaders
These ten leaders hold or have held director-level or more senior operations roles at Delta Air Lines. Readers can learn how an airline of Delta's scale runs its airports, flight operations, maintenance and operations control, and how its leaders manage reliability day to day.
Professionals to explore
01—10Dan Janki
LinkedInExperience: Chief Operating Officer · Delta Air Lines
Chief Operating Officer at Delta Air Lines since April 2026, after serving as Chief Financial Officer at Delta Air Lines (2021–2026). The profile says that as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer he oversees all aspects of Delta's safe, reliable operation, leading Airport Customer Service, Flight Operations and In-Flight Service among other groups.
Don Mitacek
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President, Technical Operations & President Delta TechOps Services Group · Delta Air Lines
Former Senior Vice President, Technical Operations & President Delta TechOps Services Group at Delta Air Lines (2012–2023). The profile says that in this role he was responsible for over 9,600 employees in 14 countries performing engineering and maintenance on commercial aircraft; he was previously Vice President at Navistar - International Truck & Engine Corp (2009–2012).
Floyd Trapp
LinkedInExperience: Director, Airport Operations · Delta Air Lines
Director, Airport Operations at Delta Air Lines since 2024, after serving as Field Director - Canada (2022–2024). The profile says he leads Ramp Operations, the Airport Coordination Center and Customer Experience at Los Angeles (LAX), overseeing an organization of more than 1,200 frontline employees and 52 leaders.
Hussein Berry
LinkedInExperience: Vice President - Airport Operations · Delta Air Lines
Vice President - Airport Operations at Delta Air Lines since 2016, after serving as Managing Director - Below Wing Operations (2013–2016) and Director - Baggage Operations (2012–2013). The profile describes driving operational excellence in complex aviation operations through Lean Six Sigma methodologies and continuous improvement initiatives.
Joe Miller
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President - Operations and Customer Center · Delta Air Lines
Senior Vice President - Operations and Customer Center at Delta Air Lines since July 2026, after serving as Vice President ATL (2022–2026) and Managing Director - Airport Operations (2021–2022). His other Delta roles include COO Managing Director - Delta Connection (2016–2021) and Director - Ground Support Equipment (2014–2016).
Larry Cochran
LinkedInExperience: Managing Director Flight Operations and System Chief Pilot · Delta Air Lines
Managing Director Flight Operations and System Chief Pilot at Delta Air Lines since 2025, alongside roles as Managing Director DC Safety and Compliance Programs (since 2023) and Managing Director Flying Operations (since 2018). The profile says he leads and assists over 14,000 Delta pilots at eight bases across the U.S., including the chief pilots and the Federal Flight Deck Officer Program.
Laura Lucas-Edwards
LinkedInExperience: Director Line Operations · Delta Air Lines
Director Line Operations at Delta Air Lines since 2023, after serving as Chief Pilot - Flight Operations Safety Programs (2021–2023); she has also been a Pilot at Delta since 2010. The profile says she oversees the safe and efficient execution of day-to-day flight operations throughout all theaters and leads a team that develops and implements operational strategies.
Ryan Gumm
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President - Flight Operations · Delta Air Lines
Senior Vice President - Flight Operations at Delta Air Lines since 2023 and Senior Vice President - Operations & Customer Center since 2021, after serving as Vice President Flight Operations - Business Operations and Resources (2018–2021). The profile says the Operations & Customer Center role gives him oversight of Delta's worldwide operations, rooted in safety, reliability and customer focus; he was earlier President & Chief Executive Officer of Endeavor Air (2013–2017).
Tim Phillipp
LinkedInExperience: Managing Director - OCC Operations · Delta Air Lines
Former Managing Director - OCC Operations at Delta Air Lines (2021–2024), where the profile says he led Delta's Flight Control, Ops Management, Air Traffic & Meteorology teams within the Delta Operations and Customer Center. He also held Director - Operations Management, OCC (2020–2021) and General Manager - Ops Management (2019–2020) at Delta.
Vishal Bhatnagar
LinkedInExperience: Managing Director - Global Cargo Operations · Delta Air Lines
Managing Director - Global Cargo Operations at Delta Air Lines since 2021, after serving as Director - Cargo Operational Performance and Customer Experience (2017–2020). The profile says he is responsible for operations and customer experience for the $1 billion Delta Cargo business, serving a team of 2,000; he was earlier Head of Operations and Processes, The Americas at Lufthansa Cargo (2010–2017).
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's area to your question, since airport, flight, maintenance, cargo and operations control roles each see a different part of the airline. Check whether the relevant role is current or past before asking about recent practice.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How does an airline operations team recover the schedule after weather or technology disruptions?
- 02Which metrics do you watch every day to manage on-time performance and completion factor?
- 03How do you evaluate vendors and technology that want to sell into airport or maintenance operations?
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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