Anko van der Werff, current President and CEO of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), will assume the role of President and CEO at Air Canada by the end of January 2027. He departs SAS at the beginning of 2027, succeeding Michael Rousseau, who retires 31 August 2026 after 19 years. Van der Werff joins Air Canada’s Board of Directors and brings five years of SAS leadership plus prior CEO roles at Avianca, Aeroméxico, KLM, and Qatar Airways. During the transition, Air Canada’s Executive Committee reports directly to the Board. SAS will now appoint his successor. The move reflects operators’ trend of recruiting international executives to navigate post-pandemic recovery and reputational challenges.