CALGARY — WestJet’s senior leadership team is stacked more than ever, with three new vice-presidents joining the ranks.

Gandeephan Ganeshalingam has been appointed Vice-President, Lean and Continuous Improvement, Stuart McDonald is the airline’s new Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, while Scott Groh has been named Vice-President, Crew Resources.

The appointments, said WestJet, position the airline on a path to “global expansion”.

Gandeephan will step into his new role on Feb. 19, coming from GE Canada where he served as Chief Innovation Officer. There, he supported WestJet on several initiatives including an artificial intelligence project to improve dispatch reliability for WestJet’s Boeing 767s.

McDonald, who begins his new role on Jan. 29, comes with 25 years of global IT leadership experience, most recently serving as Vice-President, Strategic Initiatives, and Vice-President, Employee Enablement at TD Bank. He will work with WestJet to build out the global technology footprint needed to meet the airline’s expansion plans.

Groh, who joined WestJet on Jan. 3, most recently worked for Qatar Airways as Senior Vice-President, Crew Resources, Flight Operations. He also held the position of Vice-President, Crew Resources for Etihad Airways for nine years, and has more than 30 years of experience in crew planning and crew scheduling operations. His vast experience will help WestJet prepare for the challenges of deploying its Boing 787 Dreamliner fleet and global network plans.

“I am pleased to welcome Gandeephan, Stuart and Scott to the WestJet leadership team,” said Gregg Saretsky, WestJet President and CEO. “As we continue on our path to becoming a global, full-service carrier, the additional bench strength provided by our newest leaders is key to this exciting initiative.”

Gandeephan will report to Saretsky, Stuart will report to Craig Maccubbin, WestJet Executive Vice-President and Chief Information Officer, while Scott will report to Cam Kenyon, WestJet Executive Vice-President, Operations.