Air Canada picks French-speaking top boss of Scandinavian Airlines as CEO (updated)

Air Canada

08/07/2026 13:39

Van der Werff to join Air Canada by the end of January 2027
Air Canada says the search included ability to speak in French
SAS to start the process of appointing a successor
Adds details on CEO Rousseau's departure in paragraph 3
By Shivansh Tiwary and Allison Lampert

    July 8 (Reuters) - Air Canada AC.TO on Wednesday named the French-speaking head of Scandinavian airline SAS, Anko van der Werff, as CEO, filling the top job at the largest carrier of the bilingual nation where language had become a critical part of the succession plan.   
The appointment concludes the search for Michael Rousseau's successor after he announced in March his plan to retire, bringing to an end a 19-year tenure with the airline.
Rousseau, who will leave in August, had faced criticism earlier this year after failing to offer condolences in French, one of Canada's two official languages, following a crash that killed two pilots. 
Van der Werff is set to join Air Canada by the end of January 2027. SAS, which is part-owned by Air France-KLM AIRF.PA, will begin the process of appointing a successor, the airline said.
He joined SAS in 2021 when the airline was reeling with pandemic-driven collapse in travel demand and a heavy debt, challenges that eventually pushed the airline into a comprehensive restructuring process.
Before joining SAS, he was CEO of Colombian airline Avianca and held senior roles at Aeromexico and Qatar Airways.
Some industry experts had viewed Van der Werff as a frontrunner for the top job at Air Canada, as the industry reels with heightened volatility in jet fuel prices and soaring costs.

 FRENCH-SPEAKING ABILITY SHAPES SEARCH
When Rousseau decided to retire, Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the move and told reporters it was "absolutely essential" that the next CEO be fully bilingual.
Language remains a sensitive issue in largely French-speaking Quebec, Air Canada's headquarters and the country's second-most populous province.
"The search considered a number of performance criteria, including the ability to communicate in French," Air Canada said on Wednesday.
     In a prepared video to Air Canada employees, van der Werff, who is from the Netherlands, told an interviewer in business-like French that he likes "to be close to the action, to listen, understand and work as part of a team", adding that he was approaching his new role in that spirit.
     The company interviewer congratulated van der Werff on his French, which the Dutchman said he had learned at school and during family holidays. 
"I understand the importance of communicating in French at Air Canada (and) of talking directly to employees, clients and partners," he said.
     The recruitment echoes Air France-KLM's 2018 appointment of Air Canada's then No. 2 Ben Smith as CEO, a choice initially opposed by unions over his limited experience with France's social model. Smith later won labour deals, improved his French and helped pacify the group's powerful unions.
 
     

 (Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru, Allison Lampert in Montreal, Louise Rasmussen in Copenhagen and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Arun Koyyur)
 ((Shivansh.Tiwary@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9708363192; X: @Shivansh_19_;))