Richard H. Anderson was named chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines in September 2007. Anderson joined Delta as a member of the Board of Directors in April 2007. After an extensive search, Delta's board chose Anderson to lead the airline following Gerald Grinstein's retirement.

Prior to joining Delta, Anderson was executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, where he worked for three years, and served as president of UnitedHealth's Commercial Markets Group. He also serves as a director of Cargill Inc. and Medtronic Inc.

Previously, Anderson was staff vice president and deputy general counsel for Continental Airlines. He began with Continental in 1987 and previously held positions as corporate attorney, assistant general counsel and associate general counsel.

In 1990, Anderson began a 14-year career at Northwest Airlines where he served as vice president and deputy general counsel; senior vice president of Technical Operations and Airport Affairs; executive vice president and chief operating officer; and from 2001 to 2004, as chief executive officer.

Anderson holds a law degree from South Texas College of Law and a bachelor-of-science degree from the University of Houston.


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