Delta E.V.P. and Chief Information Officer Rahul Samant was recognized by the Forbes CIO Next 2023 list — an annual list recognizing 50 top tech leaders globally.

This year's honorees were selected for guiding their organizations through digital transformation and putting technology at the center of the business. Rahul was the only airline tech leader recognized on this year's list, alongside leaders from Amazon, OpenAI, The Walt Disney Company and others.

"This recognizes the contributions of our top-notch Delta IT team and our collaborative business partners," Samant said. "The strategic vision and flawless execution they deliver together has made our digital transformation a reality and positioned technology as a competitive advantage for our business."

The recognition shines a spotlight on Information Technology's efforts to orchestrate a multi-phased cloud migration, empower our front-line employees with new and improved ways to serve Delta customers, and put IT at the core of running the industry's best operation.

Technology is the backbone to delivering an elevated experience at Delta. Customers first see this during the booking process on the Fly Delta app or Delta.com. A multitude of self-service options and an increasingly personalized customer experience then continues across all their interactions with Delta, from SkyMiles Member recognition to personalized in-flight messages to communicating other customer needs and preferences to Flight Attendants and ACS. Delta is building a foundation to enable an even more personalized journey and elevated customer experience through free Wi-Fi onboard, Delta Sync and beyond.

"The work we're doing aims to empower our people to deliver the Delta experience nimbly, flexibly and at scale," Samant said. "It's important we leverage the best of the technological innovation, and that means listening to our customers and ensuring our people, who are the very best in the industry, have the tools and insights to meet our customers' growing needs and preferences."