John E. "Ned" Walker

John E. "Ned" Walker, 56, joined Delta as Senior Vice President & Chief Communications Officer in November 2008.  Ned joined Delta after retiring from Continental Airlines after a distinguished 21 year career in corporate communications.

Under Ned's leadership, Continental became recognized as a leader in internal and external communications.  During Ned's last five years, Fortune Magazine ranked Continental the Most Admired Global Airline.

During his career, Ned promoted coordinated communications within the airline to establish consistent messaging with employees, shareholders, media and the public.

Ned was a key contributor to Continental's remarkable turnaround in the late 1990s when the airline rose to the top of the industry in employee morale and customer service after two bankruptcies.  In 1996, Ned was named Employee Communications All-Star by Inside PR and was recognized for helping to transform Continental's once authoritarian corporate culture into a more employee-friendly environment.

He joined Continental in 1987 and was immediately involved in communications as the airline merged with PeopleExpress, New York Air and several commuter airlines.

Ned began his aviation career with Frontier Horizon, a Frontier Airlines' subsidiary.

Ned had previously been a journalist with The Chicago Tribune-owned KWGN-TV in Denver.

He serves on the Advisory Council of the College of Communications at the University of Texas at Austin.  Ned was chairman of the visitor relations subcommittee for the Super Bowl XXXVIII Host Committee. He holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications from the University of Colorado at Boulder.