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Joanne Smith is Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer for Delta Air Lines. She leads the company’s global talent management, total rewards, HR service delivery, and diversity, equity, and
inclusion functions in support of the 100,000 employees who make up Delta’s unique people-first culture.
She is a staunch advocate of Delta people and its culture as the company’s most important competitive advantage and the Delta Difference. Under Joanne’s leadership, Delta has been recognized as a top workplace by Forbes, Newsweek, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Great Place to Work and Fortune.
Throughout her Delta career, she has been a leader for the In-Flight Services team, the Marketing team and now the Human Resources team. While serving as Senior Vice President – In-Flight Service, Joanne led a team of more than 20,000 flight attendants, supervisory and support personnel.
She joined Delta in 2002 as Vice President – Marketing and Customer Service for Song, the airline’s former low-cost carrier. Prior to her current role, she also served as Delta’s Vice President – Marketing, where she managed the airline’s brand, worldwide marketing communications, marketing sponsorships, community affairs, customer research, and product and service development.
Joanne has received many awards and recognition including 25 Power Women to Watch in Atlanta, Advertising Age Top 10 Women to Watch, Wall Street Journal’s Top Women to Watch, Honored Alumni of the Orfalea College of Business and Gold Spotlight Award for distinguished alumni, AWNY Changing the Game Award, and YWCA Academy of Women Achievers.
Joanne serves on the Board of Directors for Delta Air Lines Foundation, the Board of Directors for Flowers Food and the Board of Trustees for Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia. She holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University.