Richard Anderson, the departing CEO of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, is moving to Texas as he retires.
Anderson last week announced he will retire in May and become executive chairman of the board of directors at Delta, but has already taken on a lower profile at the company.
Incoming CEO Ed Bastian said he has already moved into Anderson's office.
Anderson, who started out his career as a lawyer and is from Texas, will have an office at a Texas law firm as of-counsel, according to Bastian.
"He'll be an important board member so we'll be in regular dialogue. But he's not going to be around all that much," Bastian said. He called Anderson "a strong mentor... I'm going to continue to seek his counsel."
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Bastian noted he does not come from a legal background as Anderson does.
"We have a lot in common. Our personalities are just different," Bastian said. "I like to listen a lot, and hear what's happening in the business. Richard also had a really strong operational background in the airlines. I came more from the analytical, the finance and the commercial side of the business. So we approach it from different places, but we always ended up at the same place. So the results will be the same; it's just that the way we get there might be a little different."
