Delta CEO Ed Bastian was honored in Las Vegas earlier this week as the second-ever Ethical Leader of the Year.

The award was presented at the 75^th anniversary of the Society for Human Resource Management, the largest trade association of HR professionals, and in partnership with The William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, a family foundation committed to compassionate philanthropy.

A committee of national judges selected Bastian for his longstanding personal commitments to ethical leadership, leading by example and for his extraordinary efforts leading Delta through the COVID-19 pandemic among other major crises in his 25-year tenure at the company.  

“Delta has thrived under Ed Bastian’s leadership and that’s why he was chosen as our Ethical Leader of the Year,” said Brian Peckrill, Interim Executive Director for the McGowan Fund. “The McGowan Fund and Delta both cherish leadership in the community, putting people first and a commitment to values-based decision making. I’m honored to announce his selection by our judges for the second year in the award’s history.”

Delta Chief People Officer Joanne Smith was in attendance at the event, where Bastian thanked the 90,000 global airline professionals from the stage all while sharing his top priority as CEO: “When people ask me what my job is and what do I do? I tell them it’s really simple. My job is taking care of our people. … And I obsess over taking care of them.”