2023 Meridian Corporate Leader Awardee

Executive Vice President, External Affairs @ Delta Air Lines Inc

Peter Carter is Delta's Executive Vice President - External Affairs overseeing international, legal, regulatory, government affairs, and sustainability teams worldwide. Carter has also served as Delta’s Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary since July 2015 and is a member of the Delta Leadership Committee.

Carter focuses on optimizing Delta’s international partnerships, ensuring Delta's freedom to operate, protecting Delta's brand, and advocating for Delta's interests before policy makers around the world. He also oversees Delta’s sustainability strategy of becoming a carbon free airline by 2050.

Carter regularly engages with government stakeholders on matters relating to competition policy, alliances, privacy and compliance. During the height of the pandemic, he helped secure support from Congress and administration officials leading to the passage of the CARES Act.

Before joining Delta, Carter was a partner at the international law firm of Dorsey & Whitney LLP, where he chaired the firm’s Policy Committee. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been recognized by numerous organizations and publications, including being honored with a Burton Award for public interest, being named one of "America's Leading Business Lawyers" by Chambers USA, and being named Antitrust Lawyer of the Year in 2013 by Best Lawyers in America. Before joining Dorsey, Carter clerked for Judge James B. Loken at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Carter serves as a member of the Boards of Virgin Atlantic Airways, the Delta Air Lines Foundation, the Chick Fil-A Foundation, Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Minnesota Business Partnership, Global Citizen, and currently chairs the board of the United Way of Greater Atlanta. He also serves on NYC Mayor Eric Adam’s Business Leadership Council and previously served as a member of the State of Georgia Judicial Selection Commission.