Air Canada has appointed Anko Van der Werff as its next president and CEO, with his appointment taking effect by the end of January 2027, whilst he joins the airline’s Board of Directors, succeeding Michael Rousseau following his planned retirement.
Van der Werff has joined Air Canada from Scandinavian Airlines, where he is currently serving as president and CEO. In his new role, he will be leading the airline’s long-term growth strategy, strengthening its customer value position and working closely with the executive team to drive transformation while maintaining disciplined capital allocation.
Vagn Sørensen, Chair of the Board, says, “Our Board of Directors was impressed by the quality of experienced executives from around the world who expressed interest in the role,” adding further, “We are delighted to have attracted and recruited an executive of Mr Van der Werff’s stature to lead Air Canada. He has an exceptional breadth of international aviation experience and a proven 25-year track record, including his most recent forward-looking executive leadership at Scandinavian Airlines, Avianca Group, and Aeroméxico and earlier at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (now Air France-KLM) and Qatar Airways. We are confident he will drive further value-creating growth and transformation while maintaining our commitment to disciplined capital allocation.”
Anko Van der Werff says, “Air Canada is a globally recognized airline leader. It is an honour to be chosen to lead this iconic Canadian company as it advances its ambitions and strategy, builds on its award-winning employee culture and customer value proposition, and prepares for an even brighter future,” he adds. “I look forward to working closely with Air Canada’s talented executive team and with all employees to fulfil our commitments to shareholders and customers. I am excited about relocating to Montréal and eager to get started.”
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The appointment follows a comprehensive global executive search and is reinforcing Air Canada’s commitment to long-term growth, operational excellence and strong leadership as the airline is preparing for its next phase of development.
