| Good morning, and welcome to the launch of our new Fortune 500 Digest newsletter, where we will bring you the best stories and updates on the world’s largest companies and their leaders. |
| The mood among Fortune 500 CEOs has shifted recently from optimistic to more cautious as a new administration with an affection for tariffs has sent jitters through global markets. |
| As JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently remarked: “Uncertainty is not a good thing.” |
| How do you navigate uncharted waters and lead a team successfully when you can’t see around corners? Ed Bastian, the CEO of Delta Air Lines (No. 70 on the Fortune 500), is no stranger to uncertainty. During his 26 years at the company, he has helped lead the organization through 9/11, bankruptcy, and a pandemic, to become not only the biggest airline in America by revenue, but the most profitable. |
| To do that, Bastian has used a contrarian playbook that’s now being copied by his competitors. When other airlines were leaning into budget pricing, Bastian realized it was a race to the bottom and instead emphasized premium travel experiences. Delta now generates more revenue per customer than any of its competitors. |
| During COVID, Bastian was early to eliminate middle-seat sales; he also got rid of change fees, which trimmed Delta’s revenue but boosted long-term loyalty. And this February, when a Delta aircraft flipped over upon landing in Toronto, the company quickly gifted every passenger $30,000 and covered their short-term medical expenses. |
| Bastian also offers an example of how, even in a more efficiency-obsessed business landscape, stakeholder capitalism and long-term thinking can lead to better financial outcomes. The CEO has used creative incentives to build employee buy-in and put customers first, even at the expense of short-term financial gain. |
| Today, Delta offers one of the most robust employee profit-sharing programs in the Fortune 500. The program was started in 2007 as the airline was emerging from bankruptcy, and it has helped keep unionization drives at bay by improving morale. This year, the profit-sharing payout amounted to a $1.4 billion pot for its 100,000 employees to split; in all, Delta has shared more than $10 billion in earnings with employees during Bastian’s nine years as CEO. Learn more about the airline’s remarkable flight path by reading our April/May cover story below. |
