Kristen Shovlin, vice president of sales operations and innovations for Delta Air Lines, will retire from the company after a 38-year aviation career. In a letter on Delta’s website, Steve Sear, executive vice president-global sales and distribution, said he has worked with Shovlin for more than 20 years and has “witnessed firsthand the game-changing impact she has had on our business and the exceptional teams she has developed.”

Shovlin began her career in 1985 with Republic Airlines in Los Angeles as a part-time reservations agent. She would go on to lead reservations, customer care and sales support at Northwest Airlines before joining Delta’s global sales team in 2008. There she launched the sales operations function with what Sear called “industry-first innovations.”

For the past 14 years, Shovlin has led Delta’s sales operations and development team, delivering customer-centric technology, targeted marketing communications, contracting and strategic customer activations. In this role, said Sear, she laid the foundation for many cross-commercial initiatives, including Corporate Priority, Delta Professional, SkyMiles for Business and seamless service delivery with joint venture partners.

Shovlin has served as an executive sponsor of the Global Business Travel Association’s WINiT, a global network to support and empower women in their careers. She has also served on the executive committee of Delta’s DE&I (diversity, equity and inclusion) initiative for more than five years.