Air Canada will see a management change, and I don’t think many people will be sad to hear that.
Michael Rousseau “retires” as CEO of Air Canada
Air Canada has announced that CEO Michael Rousseau has informed the Board of Directors that he will retire by the end of the third quarter of 2026, after nearly two decades at the airline. No immediate replacement has been named.
The announcement notes that “work has been underway for more than two years on a comprehensive internal development program for high potential executives.” An external global search was also commenced in January 2026, to identify potential additional candidates with skills and experience to lead the airline.
News of this “retirement” comes after the recent Air Canada Jazz accident at New York LaGuardia (LGA), where a big focus became the CEO’s lack of French. That might not seem like a big deal to some. However:
- It is a big deal to those in Quebec, given that the airline is headquartered there, and Rousseau has also lived there for a long time, without putting effort into properly learning the language; this became such a serious issue that even the country’s Prime Minister got involved
- The issue is that Rousseau had a similar controversy at the start of his tenure at the airline, also due to his lack of French, and he committed to improving his French, which clearly never happened
So it’s not surprising that the announcement notes how the airline is “proudly headquartered in Montreal,” and that the company will “consider a number of performance criteria in assessing candidates including the ability to communicate in French.”
Here’s what Rousseau had to say about his departure from the airline:
“It has been my great honour to work with the dedicated and talented people of Air Canada and to represent our outstanding organization, including as chair of the Star Alliance chief executive board and on the board of directors of the International Air Transport Association. I look forward to supporting our company during this important transition period.”
Meanwhile here’s what Vagn Sørensen, Chair of the Board of Directors, had to say about this news:
“On behalf of the entire Board, I want to thank Mike for his many contributions to Air Canada as he progressed from Chief Financial Officer to Deputy CEO and then to CEO and Board member. We are grateful for the determined leadership he has provided not only in steering our company through the 2007-2008 financial crisis, COVID and other challenges, but also in capturing opportunities such as the acquisition of Aeroplan, in restoring the solvency of our pension plans and in advancing customer centricity and employee well-being priorities. Our upcoming AGM will allow us to further recognize his achievements which include a legacy of financial strength.”
Who could become the next CEO of Air Canada?
No disrespect to Rousseau as a person, but I don’t think many people are sad to see him go as CEO. My issue with Rousseau wasn’t his lack of French, but instead, that he just seemed like a complete dud in the role (maybe there’s a nicer way to say that, but… sorry not sorry). As I said in my post last week, it was high time for him to leave.
So, who could be the next CEO of Air Canada? My impression is that for all practical purposes, Mark Galardo and Mark Nasr (I’m going alphabetically here!) have basically been running the show in recent years, and if anything, their good work maybe made Rousseau look good, just by association.
They’re both still fairly young, in their 40s. If you ask me (no one asked, I know), make one of them CEO and the other President, and that’s your best internal succession plan. They’re both very smart, passionate, knowledgable guys, who live and breathe the industry. I don’t like the whole culture of “pick a CEO in his 60s who has been around for 30+ years without rocking the boat,” just on principle.
If the airline looks externally, who might be considered? Two people come to mind:
- Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith would be an ideal candidate, since he was already President at Air Canada previously, he’s fluent in English and French, and he knows his stuff; however, arguably the job would be a bit of a downgrade, so unless he desperately wanted to move back to Canada or the airline made him an incredible offer, I can’t imagine he’d consider it
- WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech has done a good job during his tenure, and he’s also fluent in English and French; however, I fail to see what unique value he’d add beyond someone like Galardo or Nasr
Can we please do American Airlines next, now? 😉
Bottom line
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau will be “retiring” from the airline, after yet another French language controversy. My issue with him isn’t his lack of French (though that’s an issue, when he promised years ago, he’d improve it, but didn’t), but rather his absent leadership style. Either way, in “retirement,” I hope Rousseau can find the time to take some French classes.
I’m very curious to see who gets the role next. The two most promising internal leaders are both still quite young, though I’d have way more confidence in either/both of them being in the top two spots compared to Rousseau, and I think they’re qualified.
Who do you think will become the next Air Canada CEO?
