Air Canada announced the appointment of Anko Van der Werff as the next president and CEO, succeeding Michael Rousseau. Van der Werff, the current president and CEO of Scandinavian Airlines, will assume his new role by January. Expressing his excitement, Van der Werff stated that he is honored to lead the iconic Canadian company in its pursuit of growth and strategy.
Prior to his current position, Van der Werff held the CEO role at Avianca in South America and served in various high-ranking positions at Aeromexico, Qatar Airways, and KLM. He also has a background in serving on boards of international aviation and business organizations.
Rousseau announced his retirement earlier this year after 19 years at Air Canada, following a controversial incident involving an English-only condolence message regarding a fatal crash at New York’s LaGuardia airport. The crash resulted in the tragic deaths of both pilots, one of whom was from Quebec, and multiple passenger injuries.
Van der Werff’s selection followed an extensive global search by Air Canada, which included criteria such as proficiency in French. A native of the Netherlands, Van der Werff is fluent in Dutch and has the ability to communicate in French. He is also proficient in English and has acquired Spanish, Italian, and Swedish languages during his career.
The transition period will see Air Canada’s executive committee reporting to the board of directors until Van der Werff officially assumes his new role. The company’s website offers greetings from Van der Werff in both English and French, emphasizing the importance of bilingual service to Canadians as a fundamental responsibility of the airline.