Delta Air Lines chief operating officer Mike Spanos will leave the company on 31 August after holding the role for little more than one year and earning compensation of nearly $8.6 million in 2023 alone.
The Atlanta-based airline disclosed Spanos’ pending departure in a 23 August filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The move comes several weeks after Delta suffered an operational meltdown in July due to a computer system update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike.
The airline declines to say if Spanos resigned or was fired, and declines to specify if last month’s operational problems played a role.
In a 23 August message to employees, Delta chief executive Ed Bastian wrote, “Earlier this summer, chief operating officer Mike Spanos shared with me that he was considering opportunities outside of Delta”.
“I’m writing today to announce that Mike will be departing,” Bastian’s note says, adding that Spanos will be taking a job with another company.
Delta specifies that Spanos, a longtime PepsiCo executive who joined Delta in June 2023, had told Bastian of his desire to leave prior to Delta’s July operational upheaval.
Bastian’s note also says the carrier does not, initially at least, intend to backfill the chief operating officer position and that as part of the change two Delta staff – operations chief and Delta TechOps president John Laughter, and chief customer experience officer Allison Ausband – will now report directly to Bastian.
The CrowdStrike issue affected numerous airlines globally, but Delta’s operation was particularly disrupted and took much longer to recover. The issue forced the Atlanta-based airline to cancel some 7,000 flights over numerous days in July, costing it $500 million, Delta has said.
Spanos could not immediately be reached for comment.
“Since joining Delta, Mike immersed himself with our frontline teams, prioritising safety first,” Bastian’s employee note adds. “He has helped to advance Delta’s performance over the past year, and we continue to lead the industry across all operating metrics.”
A Delta securities filing says the company compensated Spanos to the tune of $8.6 million in 2023 alone. That figure includes $361,932 in salary payments, a $250,000 signing bonus, stock awards worth $6.8 million, $901,554 in incentive compensation and $220,561 in unspecified “other compensation.”
Delta declines to comment about Spanos’ compensation.
Spanos joined Delta after having been CEO of amusement park operator Six Flags Entertainment from November 2019 to November 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Previously, Spanos worked 10 years at PepsiCo, including as CEO of its operations in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and CEO of its China division. Earlier, Spanos spent 11 years at Pepsi Bottling Group, including as vice-president of sales, according to LinkedIn.
