Delta Air Lines announced Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Gil West will retire at the end of September.
CEO Ed Bastian said in a staff memo that West, who joined the airline in 2008, “has been essential in making Delta what it is today — the safest, most reliable airline on the planet, with an unmatched drive for innovation in every part of our business.”
Bastian said West helped lead Delta’s integration with Northwest Airlines in 2008 and “set the standard for combining the best of both companies. In subsequent years, Gil’s team brought Delta from the bottom of the industry in operational performance to the worldwide gold standard in reliability.”
West also led a number of ancillary businesses, including Delta Hangar, Technical Operations, Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul, Delta Flight Products and Delta Material Services.
“His greatest contribution to Delta was the creation of the world’s best operational team,” Bastian said. “We’re thankful for the foundation of operational excellence that our team will stand on and lead us forward in the years ahead.”
Sterling Transportation
Cristine Olvera has joined Sterling Transportation to manage its Los Angeles terminal.
Olvera has more than 20 years of logistics industry experience, from clerical to operations to container freight station (CFS) import consolidation.
“I’m hoping my experience will help Sterling Transportation continue to grow and improve,” she said, “and I am excited to expand beyond ocean and CFS. Air is quicker and timing is even more crucial.”
Sterling Transportation provides expedited LTL and FTL shipments for freight forwarders and airlines from California to Florida. Headquartered in LA, Sterling also has an office and terminal in Miami.
Sterling CEO Keith Davis said Olvera “brings a fresh perspective to our operation. I believe we will reap the benefits of her skills and extensive experience in the CFS and logistics business.”
Leadership Florida
JAXPORT Chief Operating Officer Frederick P. Wong Jr. has been selected to serve as a member of Leadership Florida Cornerstone Class 39.
Wong is one of 55 members of the 2020-21 class selected by Leadership Florida, a statewide mentoring organization. The nine-month program brings together emerging leaders from around Florida to focus on issues critical to the state. The more than 3,100 graduates of Leadership Florida programs are public servants and executives from some of the state’s top corporations and nonprofits.
“Leadership Florida is one of the country’s most prestigious leadership development programs and I am honored to be a part of this year’s Cornerstone Class,” Wong said. “I look forward to learning from the program’s mentors and my fellow classmates, sharing my thoughts and ideas and working together to help build a better future for our region and state.”
As COO, Wong oversees the Jacksonville, Florida, port’s terminal operations and the public safety and engineering departments. He is responsible for such major JAXPORT initiatives as the harbor deepening and expansion of the port’s auto-handling capacity.
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