Home Depot Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Frank Blake is joining Delta Air Lines’ board of directors, the carrier announced Friday.
Blake, a former deputy secretary of the U.S. Energy Department, has been chairman and CEO of Atlanta-based Home Depot since January 2007. Before that time, he served as vice chairman at the home improvement retail chain, the world’s largest, and executive vice president for business development and corporate operations.
He was in charge of mergers and acquisitions at General Electric while serving as senior vice president of corporate business development for the company.
Blake also served as general counsel for the Environmental Protection Agency, deputy counsel to Vice President George Bush and law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.
In a statement, Delta’s board chairman, Daniel Carp, cited Blake’s “success in leading a complex organization focused on improving shareholder returns.”
On Wednesday, Delta reported an $801 million profit for the second quarter, up 17 percent from its results a year ago. Its operating revenue increased 9 percent to $10.6 billion.
The carrier, the largest serving Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, also said it expects about 800 to 900 employees to take early retirement offers. The company employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide.
Home Depot employs more than 300,000 and has more than 2,260 stores around the country. Blake joins Delta’s board, effective immediately.
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