Born and raised in St. Paul in a large Catholic family, Bill Lentsch spent 32 years in the airline industry, with experience in engineering as well as leadership roles and operations. Most recently serving as chief customer experience officer for Delta Airlines, Lentsch joins the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Oct. 1 as its first chief operating officer.
“I’m really looking forward to a change in the scope, the responsibility — and really being able to have the Lord, all the good work of the Lord at the center of what I am doing, and helping this Catholic community that has been so good to my family,” he said.
Bill Lentsch
Lentsch and his wife, Kate, grew up in St. Paul parishes and Catholic schools, and are parishioners of Assumption in St. Paul. He recently joined “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley to preview his role at the archdiocese.
Before retiring from Delta June 30, Lentsch led 55,000 of Delta’s 85,000 employees. He said it was important for him every day to have a godly approach to what he was thinking, doing, in making decisions and in leading. But, he added, a bit of a challenge exists in being able to really express and evangelize one’s faith in public life.
Lentsch said he looks forward to “the opportunity to not only bring the skills that I’ve learned, the experiences that I’ve had, into an organization that is revitalizing itself and working to bring itself to new heights, and being able to do that surrounded by people who I can evangelize with.”
There’s a bit of a selfish element, too, Lentsch said, as he also wants to draw closer to God. “And I think this is an opportunity in the twilight of my career to do just that.”
Don’t look for immediate changes, he said. Lentsch plans to make time the first couple of months to gain a deeper understanding of hearts and minds, do a lot of listening, make himself available, be visible, listen, understand and then start to formulate actions.
In his new role, he said he will do what he can to continue to elevate levels of transparency, communication and understanding, “and then making sure people understand the actions that we are taking in order to drive this community … in a continued strong direction focused on the good work of the Lord and what he wants for us.”
Lentsch asked the faithful to pray that he gain the wisdom needed in his role on the archdiocesan team, and to make a difference in the lives of Catholics in this community.
To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show. It airs at 9 p.m. Aug. 6, 1 p.m. Aug. 7 and 2 p.m. Aug. 8 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with licensed financial advisor Diane Wieneke, who shares budgeting tips for young adults and newlyweds, and Dianne Johnson, retired registered nurse and founder of the Curatio apostolate, who is joined by Katherine Haik, Curatio president.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at:
soundcloud.com/PracticingCatholic
tinyurl.com/PracticingCatholic (Spotify)
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