Air Canada has announced that Lucie Guillemette, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, will retire at the end of April after a distinguished career touching five decades at Canada's flag carrier.
"Starting with her first job as a call centre agent, Lucie has at every stage of her remarkable, 36-year career contributed to Air Canada's advancement," said AC president and CEO Michael Rousseau.
"She is a leader who inspired her teams and all employees with her passion for customer service, her deep personal regard for her colleagues, and her unwavering commitment to our company's success."
Following Guillemette's departure, Mark Nasr, Senior Vice President, Products, Marketing and eCommerce, will become Executive Vice President Marketing and Digital, and President of Aeroplan. Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management, will become Executive Vice President, Revenue and Network Planning, including responsibility for Air Canada Vacations. The new appointments will be effective May 1.
Guillemette's career included a wide range of roles, resulting in an unparalleled knowledge of the airline's operations. She joined AC in 1987 as a Customer Service and Sales Agent and subsequently moved into Passenger Marketing, holding positions in revenue and product management. She was appointed Director, International Products in 2000.
Guillemette then held senior marketing and commercial positions, including General Manager, Aeroplan Call Center Operations, and Senior Director, Network Management. She was also Senior Director, Human Resources.
In 2008, Guillemette joined Air Canada's executive team as Vice President, Revenue Management. In 2015, she was named Senior Vice President, Revenue Optimization, with responsibility for yield management, pricing strategies, global sales and distribution activities.
In her present role, she has oversight for optimizing all commercial activities for the airline and its regional partners, including network planning and management, revenue performance, product, marketing, branding, sales and distribution activities worldwide. She is also President of Air Canada Vacations.
Air Canada's EVP & Chief Commercial Officer Lucie Guillemette is flanked by TravelPulse Canada's Bruce Parkinson and Air Canada Vacations VP Nino Montagnese. (Bruce Parkinson)"It is no coincidence that Lucie's rise through the senior management ranks paralleled the transformation of Air Canada into a leading global carrier, with our revenue doubling and our profitability growing even faster as we undertook a major, international network expansion," said Rousseau.
"Capping this, she played a critical role helping guide Air Canada through the pandemic by implementing innovative revenue strategies that will now serve as the foundation for our future. Everyone at Air Canada joins me in thanking Lucie and heartily wishing her the best for a long, fulfilling retirement."
In 2017, Guillemette was recognized by the Women's Executive Network as of one Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women in Business in the Corporate Executive category.
TravelPulse Canada would like to thank Guillemette for her courtesy and grace over the years as an interview subject, and we wish her a long and happy retirement when the time comes.
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