Thursday, August 23, 2007
Delta's CEO must take on 'culture'
 Anderson  |
ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines Inc.'s incoming chief executive has gained a reputation in the airline industry as a decisive leader with a common man appeal.
His laid-back style helped Richard Anderson win over employees as CEO at Northwest Airlines Corp. At Delta, he will face a company that has embraced independence.
Industry experts said that if Anderson decides to seek a merger with another carrier, as some observers have speculated he might, it may be a tough sell at an airline that went to war to stay on its own.
"I think the biggest challenge he may face is the Delta culture, to get those people working with him," Minneapolis-based airline expert Terry Trippler said Wednesday.
Since being named Tuesday as Gerald Grinstein's replacement as Delta's CEO, effective Sept. 1, Anderson has denied speculation that he might consider a merger between Atlanta-based Delta and Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest or some other carrier.
"I do not come here with any merger intentions," Anderson said Wednesday during a brief appearance in the self-service check-in area kiosk at the Atlanta airport.
The comments haven't stopped Wall Street from buzzing with talk of the possibility.
"The question is not if Delta wants consolidation, but will they be a buyer or a seller?" Calyon Securities airline analyst Ray Neidl said in a research note Wednesday.
Anderson joined Northwest in 1990 as deputy general counsel after working as a prosecutor in Texas. He was named CEO in February 2001, and had a reputation for working in what was virtually a co-CEO arrangement with then-President Doug Steenland, who runs the company now.
Anderson ran Northwest during one of the toughest periods in the industry's history. The Sept. 11 attacks seven months into his tenure led to a steep drop-off in passenger traffic. That was followed by the 2003 Iraq war and 2003 SARS virus scare, which disproportionately hurt Northwest because of its large Asia presence.
He left Northwest in 2004 and took a job as an executive at Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. He joined Delta's board after it exited bankruptcy on April 30.
Anderson's knowledge of Northwest and his relationship with executives there, particularly Steenland, could be an impetus for consolidation, analysts say.
"Having two airline chiefs that understand one another may provide the best opportunity the industry has seen for reaching a friendly deal," Bear Stearns analysts said in a research note Wednesday.
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