Delta Air Lines announced on January 6th, 2026 that Rahul Samant, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, will retire on March 1st, 2026, concluding a decade overseeing the airline’s technology organization. The planned transition was communicated internally and reflects what Delta described as an orderly leadership handoff.

During his tenure, Samant led a broad modernization of Delta’s technology operations, with a focus on improving system reliability, resiliency, and scalability. His responsibilities spanned enterprise IT infrastructure, data and analytics capabilities, cloud migration efforts, and the early development of digital and AI-enabled tools supporting both customer facing and operational systems.

Above: a photo of Rahul Samant, Delta Air Lines CIO, in a Forbes interview in 2020. Photo from this video on Forbes. Used fair use provision.

As part of the transition, Delta has named Amala Duggirala as Chief Digital & Technology Officer, a role that combines oversight of the airline’s technology platforms with responsibility for digital product development. Duggirala is scheduled to begin the role on January 12th, 2026, and will report directly to Ed Bastian, joining Delta’s Leadership Committee.

Duggirala joins Delta from USAA, where she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, leading enterprise-wide digital transformation initiatives. In her new role, she will oversee both technology infrastructure and digital strategy, with senior leaders across commercial and digital teams reporting into the unified organization.

Delta has framed the leadership change as part of its ongoing evolution in how technology and digital capabilities support airline operations, customer experience, and long-term strategy. Samant is expected to remain available in an advisory capacity during the transition period, supporting continuity as responsibilities shift to the new leadership structure.