American Airlines Names New Chief Digital and Information Officer

American Airlines announced that Ganesh Jayaram has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO), effective Sept. 1. Jayaram will report to American’s CEO Robert Isom.

“Ganesh has a proven ability to drive innovation in large, complex global organizations that are focused on operational reliability,” said Isom. “His leadership style, global expertise and success in building and implementing both business and technology strategy will serve him incredibly well as he steps in to lead our technology team. We look forward to having him join our senior team early next month.”

In his role as CDIO, Jayaram will provide leadership, vision, and direction for American’s technology organization supporting both technical and business strategic objectives. This includes leading and shaping the roadmap for defining the role technology will play in driving customer and team member experiences.

Jayaram joins the airline from Deere & Company where he has led the information technology organization since 2016 and served as its Chief Information Officer. He spent more than 15 years at Deere, holding several key leadership roles, including Vice President of Information Technology, and Vice President of Corporate Strategy & Business Development.

Prior to Deere, Jayaram worked at Danaher Corporation and Canon USA Inc. He began his career at Boston Consulting Group. Jayaram earned a Bachelor of Technology from Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi and a doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University.

Jayaram will succeed Maya Leibman, who previously announced she will be relocating to the United Kingdom for family reasons. Leibman will assist with leading the transition through the end of the year and take on new international responsibilities in 2023. Leibman joined American in 1994 and has served as the airline’s Chief Information Officer since January 2012.

“Maya has been a central leader in American’s evolution over the past decade,” added Isom. “Her leadership has left an imprint on our entire organization, and we are thankful for all that she has done. She has set us up well for this transition and we look forward to her continued leadership at American.”