Good morning,
Running an airline during a pandemic is tough enough. But Delta’s Ed Bastian made it more challenging by also becoming the poster boy for conservative politicians and journalists decrying “woke” CEOs. Bastian first landed in their crosshairs in 2018 by cancelling a discount program for NRA members after the Parkland high school shootings. Then the real attacks came in 2021, when he criticized Georgia’s proposed new voting rules, which were seen by many as an effort to depress Black voter turnout.
Many of his fellow CEOs looked at the attacks on Bastian and privately vowed not to follow in his footsteps. But he is unbowed. In an interview with Michal Lev-Ram and me on Fortune's Leadership Next, here’s what he had to say about the episode:
