American Airlines Group Inc. announced that Nathaniel (Nat) Pieper has been named Chief Commercial Officer. Pieper, currently CEO of the oneworld alliance, will assume his new role effective Nov. 3. He will report to American’s CEO Robert Isom.
“Nat is a world-class, results-oriented leader who has achieved tremendous success throughout his entire career,” said Isom. “He is well-versed in the airline business, having led teams across multiple disciplines at Northwest, Delta and Alaska. Nat’s experience and expertise, coupled with his recent work with us leading oneworld, make him incredibly well-suited to lead our Commercial team moving forward.”
As Chief Commercial Officer, Pieper will lead all of American’s commercial strategy, planning and performance across alliances and partnerships, cargo, co-branded credit card program, loyalty, network planning, revenue management and sales and distribution. In addition, he will co-lead the airline’s Customer Experience team with American’s Chief Operating Officer David Seymour.
Pieper joins American after serving as oneworld CEO since April 2024. During his tenure, he integrated two new airlines into oneworld, launched sustainability and customer experience initiatives and solidified relationships among member airlines. Pieper’s tenure centered on redefining oneworld’s mission and strategy to focus on premium customer experience, digital integration, initiatives of scale and implementing a durable and well-defined organizational structure that sets up the alliance for long-term success.
Prior to oneworld, Pieper spent more than 25 years in commercial and finance leadership positions at Alaska Air Group, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines. As Senior Vice President at Alaska Air Group, he spearheaded Alaska’s entrance into oneworld, constructed a commercial partnership with American Airlines linking domestic and international flying, completed several major aircraft transactions and secured sufficient liquidity to navigate the pandemic. At Delta, Pieper’s key roles included Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East, Africa and India, where he was responsible for all commercial activities in the region. He also served as Vice President, Fleet Strategy and Transactions, orchestrating nine multi-billion-dollar aircraft campaigns and overseeing the strategic overhaul of the airline’s global fleet.
Pieper joined Delta’s management team in November 2008 following its merger with Northwest Airlines, which is where he began his airline career in finance and alliances. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Duke University and a Master of Business Administration in strategy, finance and transportation management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Vice Chair Steve Johnson Returns to Role as Chief Strategy Officer
Concurrent with this appointment, Steve Johnson will resume his role as Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer, a critical role as American approaches its centennial year.
“Steve has accomplished exactly what needed to be done by reinvigorating our commercial strategy, delivering strong results and setting new standards of accountability for that team,” said Isom. “He has set up our Commercial team perfectly for this transition and will seamlessly return to his work driving strategy development and strategic positioning for American.”
