Erik Snell ’99, chief customer experience officer for Delta Air Lines, returned to campus for the Lessons from Leaders series to talk with students about rejection, culture and how curiosity and communication shape a career.
Lessons from Leaders the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business welcomed Erik Snell ’99, chief customer experience officer for Delta Air Lines, to the LaRose Digital Theatre on Dec. 3 for a conversation on operations, innovation and building a resilient career.
Snell oversees Delta’s end-to-end customer journey, including airport customer service, flight service, reservations and customer care, and about 60,000 employees across those divisions.
“This is an awesome place that you are super lucky to be in,” Snell told students. “Take advantage of every moment you have.”
After graduating with a major in economics at Elon University, Snell attended Emory University to complete his MBA. A required internship between his first and second year led him to Delta Air Lines.
“I spent the summer at Delta and traveling around and got kind of addicted to travel, addicted to the industry. And I’ve stayed ever since,” he said.
Snell shared how moments of rejection turned into opportunities. As a student, he tried out for the Elon basketball team and did not make the roster.
“I was very sad about that,” he said. “It turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me, because I turned that competitive, athletic focus into wanting to do better and improve every year.”
Years later, he was turned down for his first general manager promotion at Delta.
“I ended up getting a different offer six months later,” Snell said. “That led to many more doors opening and opportunities than I ever would have had I accepted the first one. If a door closes, other doors will open.”
Early in his career, Snell tried to map out every step. Over time, he learned that rigid planning can get in the way of growth.
“My best plan for success is to throw out the plan that I created,” he said.
Moving from finance and analytics into operations and customer roles pushed him out of his comfort zone and gave him experience leading across the business.
Snell said that in the commoditized airline industry, Delta has differentiated itself with a model centered on people and reliability.
“Brand loyalty for us really rests on four pillars,” Snell said. “First are our people and the empathy they bring. Second is reliability, getting you there safely and on time with your bags. Third is premium products. And fourth is personalization as we move from a one-to-many model to a one-to-one relationship with our customers.”
Snell said he prefers to think about “augmented intelligence” rather than artificial intelligence and expects AI tools to help speed up airport journeys, support recovery after disruptions and answer routine questions so employees can focus on complex issues.
When students asked what matters most for their own careers, Snell highlighted curiosity, energy, passion, communication and collaboration, and cautioned them not to get stuck simply reporting information in their roles.
“Do not report the news,” Snell said. “Create the news.”
Two phrases guide his approach to leadership and change.
“If I had tattoos, one of them would say ‘speed wins,’” he said. The other is a reminder not to let fear of mistakes stall progress: “Perfection is the enemy of progress. If you wait for anything to be perfect, you will never improve.”
About Lessons from Leaders
Launched in 2017 by Dean Emeritus Raghu Tadepalli, Lessons from Leaders brings senior executives to campus for open talks, small-group roundtables, and purposeful one-on-one networking that connects students with mentors. The program bridges classroom learning with real-world decision-making and aims for every student to leave with a new contact and an actionable career insight.