Overview
- Air Canada announced on Wednesday, July 8 that Anko Van der Werff will become president and CEO and join the board by the end of January 2027.
- Outgoing chief Michael Rousseau will retire effective August 31, 2026 and remain available to help with a staged handover.
- Air Canada said the appointment followed a comprehensive global search that explicitly weighed the ability to communicate in French and other performance criteria.
- Van der Werff will stay at Scandinavian Airlines through early 2027 while SAS begins selecting his successor, and Air Canada’s Executive Committee will report to the board during the interim.
- The board framed the hire as a move toward operational and financial renewal, which could mean network, product or cost changes; observers say the key things to watch are French-language engagement, capital spending and any shifts to customer-facing services.