MONTREAL — One of the top executives at Canada’s largest airline, and a familiar face and name for the travel trade, has announced her retirement.

Lucie Guillemette, Executive VP and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada, will retire at the end of April 2023.

Guillemette, who is also President of ACV, is responsible for Air Canada’s commercial strategies. Her retirement caps a highly successful career touching five decades at Canada’s flag carrier.

Guillemette’s retirement brings a realigned senior management structure, taking effect with her 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, 2023.

Michael Rousseau, Air Canada’s President and CEO, said: “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. 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.”

Rousseau added: “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. 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.”

Guillemette began her career at Air Canada in 1987 as a Customer Service and Sales Agent.

She subsequently joined Passenger Marketing, holding positions in revenue and product management and was appointed Director, International Products in 2000.

She 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.

She became a member of Air Canada’s executive team in 2008 as Vice President, Revenue Management. In 2015, she was named Senior Vice President, Revenue Optimization.

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.

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.

Guillemette was front and centre for Air Canada’s travel advisor partners especially over the past few years, speaking at virtual town halls and working hard to keep agents in the loop as the airline navigated the pandemic. She also took part in Travelweek’s Feb. 2021 Future of Travel conference. In July 2021 she spoke directly to agents in a video thanking the travel trade for all their work during the pandemic.