Transat has announced the retirement Jean-Marc Eustache, one of the principal architects of the creation of the company in 1987. Mr. Eustache will be succeeded as President and Chief Executive Officer by Annick Guérard effective May 27, 2021.
On Wednesday (May 26, 2021), Transat A.T, Inc. announced the retirement of their President and Chief Executive Officer, Jean-Marc Eustache, one of the principal architects of the creation of the company in 1987. Mr. Eustache will be succeeded by Annick Guérard, who has served as Transat’s Chief Operating Officer since 2017. Mrs. Guérard will assume her new role as the company’s President & CEO on Thursday, May 27, 2021. Mr. Eustache’s avant-garde business vision focused on vertical integration helped make Transat a world leader in the tourism industry. The company has become the envy of many, as evidenced by Air Canada’s 2019 announcement that they would acquire the company for over $720 million, before the pandemic thwarted the plans.
In Wednesday’s announcement, Transat A.T. Inc.’s Lead Director, Mr. Raymond Bachand, said,
“With the crisis resulting from the COVID-19, we were most happy to have been able to rely on all of Jean-Marc's experience and wisdom to face the worse storm in the history of Transat and the tourism industry, until the implementation of the critical $700 million financing announced on April 29, 2021 which will provide Transat with the funds it needs to relaunch its operations on solid grounds once it emerges from the pandemic-induced restrictions. We are grateful to Jean-Marc for his contribution and his unwavering dedication throughout his tenure at Transat, and we now hope that he can fully enjoy his well-deserved retirement.”
Transat’s new President and Chief Executive Officer, Annick Guérard, added,
“Jean-Marc has been a pillar of the company since its beginnings more than thirty years ago, and we want to continue to make this jewel that he leaves us shine for several decades to come.”
Also commenting on his departure, Transat’s retiring President and Chief Executive Officer, Jean-Marc Eustache, said,
“I leave the company in the good hands of Annick Guérard, who has my full confidence as well as that of the rest of the management team and the Board of Directors. I have no doubt that, under her leadership, Transat will accomplish great things and once again become a formidable competitor admired by all. I am proud to have brought Transat to where it is now, and to have been able to secure the funding that allows it to face its future with confidence. It is now time to make room for new decision-makers, as Transat will deploy the plan that will once again make it a solid, profitable company and, for a long time to come, the symbol of leisure travel in the eyes of its many customers, in Quebec and elsewhere.”
Based in Montreal, Transat A.T. Inc. (TSX: TRZ) has 5,000 employees and is the third largest airline in Canada and leading integrated tourism company specializing in holiday travel. The company offers vacation packages, hotel accommodations and air service to more than 60 destinations over 25 countries in the Americas and Europe. Air Transat has been named ‘World’s Best Leisure Airline’ at the Skytrax World Airline Awards.
Source: Air Transat