Executive team

Alexis began his role as Chief Executive Officer, WestJet in February of 2022.  

Responsible for the overall leadership of the WestJet Group of Companies, Alexis harnesses the power of WestJet’s people, fleet and technology to strategically position the airline for long-term profitable success.   

Prior to joining WestJet, Alexis spent 16 years at the Lufthansa Group, his last role being the CEO and CFO of Austrian Airlines where, during his three-and-a-half-year tenure, he restructured the airline and its network to compete with ultra-low-cost-carrier (ULCC) competition in Austria. In addition, Alexis was instrumental in successfully leading the company through the COVID-19 crisis. Previous roles within the Lufthansa Group included Chief Commercial Officer of Lufthansa Cargo AG, head of commercial at the airline's biggest hub in Frankfurt, and head of strategy and investment management for the Lufthansa airline. 

Born in Cologne, Germany, Alexis attended the University of Bonn, where he received his Physics diploma in 1995 and later, completed his PhD at Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in 1999. Alexis spent his early career at The Boston Consulting Group, working out of their Munich and Tokyo offices, with a strong focus on clients from the aviation industry.   

Diederik joined WestJet in October of 2021 as Group Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer. Responsible for the safety and daily operations of the WestJet Group, Diederik oversees flight operations, inflight, airports, technical operations, general operations, crew resources and training. With a focus on optimizing the efficiency of WestJet’s operational performance and enhancing the experience of the airline’s frontline staff, Diederik leads a dedicated and collaborative team who support the airline’s immediate and future operational success.   

With more than 25 years of aviation-industry experience in the Asia-Pacific and European regions, Diederik joined WestJet from Wizz Air, a fast-growing, ultra-low-cost business, where he held the position of Executive Vice-President and Group Chief Operations Officer. In this role, Diederik was responsible for the company’s significant expansion into the U.K., Central and Western Europe and its startup in the Middle East. Previously, Diederik held leadership roles at Martinair Holland and Virgin Blue Airlines in Australia. 

Diederik holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Business Economics from the University of Amsterdam. 

Angela Avery joined WestJet February 2020 as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary and in June of 2022, assumed the role of WestJet Group Executive Vice-President and Chief People, Corporate & Sustainability Officer.  

In her role, Angela is responsible for a strategic set of complementary functions that support the WestJet Group’s businesses and the communities they serve including, People and Culture, Communications, Legal, Government, Regulatory, Community Investment, and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG).  

Angela is an experienced airline and energy executive. With more than 25 years’ legal and commercial leadership experience, Angela joined WestJet from Athabasca Oil Corporation, where she was General Counsel and Vice-President, Business Development. In this role, Angela was responsible for legal, business development, human resources as well as marketing and transportation. Previously, she was at ConocoPhillips where she led business development teams responsible for more than $25B in transactions and became the Chief Compliance Officer of global operations based in Houston. 

Angela’s international experience includes an appointment to the United Nations Compensation Commission where she worked in Geneva, Switzerland to prepare and present war reparations claims to an international court. Angela is an active member of the community and has served on several not-for-profit boards including the Canadian Energy Law Foundation, the Calgary YMCA, Arts Commons and the Calgary Zoo. 

Her favourite destination is Palm Springs because picking a grapefruit right off the tree for breakfast never loses its magic. 

As Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, John is responsible for WestJet’s network & alliances, revenue management, sales, marketing, contact centre, and guest experience.

Under his leadership, John oversees a group of dedicated teams who enhance the WestJet guest experience and drive the optimization of WestJet’s revenue streams and brand to support the strategic direction and low-cost foundation of the WestJet Group. This includes the deployment of the airline’s fleet of more than 180 aircraft across its growing global network to align with WestJet’s long-term strategy.

John has more than 20 years’ experience in the aviation industry and joined WestJet in 2013 as Director, Network and Schedule Planning. He subsequently held the roles of Vice-President, Revenue and Pricing, and Vice-President, Network and Revenue. John and his team’s commercially driven efforts deliver $5 billion in annual guest revenue.

Before joining WestJet, John was Executive Vice-President, Route Development at InterVISTAS Consulting. During his time there he held responsibility for management of the firm’s air service development practice, leading strategic projects for airport, government and tourism clients in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and North America.

John holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

John and his family enjoy travelling to sunny destinations.

Mike joined the WestJet Group in June 2023 and oversees all financial management of the organization. This includes leading all Accounting and Financial Reporting, Planning and Analysis, Treasury, Tax, Procurement, Supply Chain, Real Estate and Payment Services teams.

With 30 years of experience in the aviation industry, Mike holds extensive expertise in asset and capital management, investor relations, merger and acquisition realization and has successfully worked with three unique private equity sponsors.

Before joining the WestJet Group’s Executive Committee, Scott’s long-established career with StandardAero included more than 13 years as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. There he led tremendous growth with revenue increases of more than 300 per cent, while delivering a 400 per cent increase in profitability through a combination of organic growth, cost management and synergistic mergers and acquisitions.

A native of Winnipeg, Mike has his Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) designation and is a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant (FCPA, FCMA). He currently serves on the board of EnviroTREC and was previously on the board of the Manitoba Aerospace Association. In 2022, Mike was a recipient of the Manitoba Aerospace Builder Award recognizing his contributions to the Manitoba Aerospace sector.

Andrew Dawson joined Sunwing in January 2009 as Chief Operating Officer and President of Tour Operations, and in August 2023 was appointed President of Sunwing Vacations Group, the vacation division of the WestJet Group. Andrew also joined WestJet’s executive leadership team in October 2023.

As President of Sunwing Vacations Group, Andrew oversees all aspects of the group’s vacation and retail services, for brands including Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations, Vacation Express, SellOffVacations and Luxe Destination Weddings.

Under Andrew’s direction over the past 14 years, Sunwing’s brands have grown to serve more than two and a half million travellers annually. As North America’s leading vacation travel provider, servicing Canadians from coast to coast and a growing US customer base through the US tour operator Vacation Express, Andrew continues to propel the WestJet Group’s robust vacation offerings forward, providing North American customers with affordable leisure travel options to dozens of popular vacation destinations.

Prior to his executive-level positions with Sunwing, Andrew served as Interim President of TUI Travel’s Canadian businesses. He has also held previous leadership roles in Canada, the US and the UK with Airtours plc and Asda Stores.

Andrew qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant in the UK in 1991.

Christian (Chris) joined WestJet in August of 2022 as Chief Digital Officer. 

Responsible for the digital transformation of the WestJet Group with a focus on enhancing operational efficiency as well as the employee and guest experience, Chris leads WestJet’s digital roadmap, data science, advanced analytics, and business intelligence agenda. In addition, Chris leads the delivery and evolution of WestJet’s digital products including, WestJet’s website and guest apps, and direction of all major projects through the airline’s Group Project Management Office.    

With over 20 years of aviation experience, Chris joined WestJet from Austrian Airlines where he served as Chief Data Officer & VP of Business Development. In this role, he established the airline’s centralized digital team, implementing digital tools and data solution across Lufthansa Group.  

Before joining Austrian, he was responsible for Lufthansa German Airlines overall strategic roadmap and investment portfolio, after joining from The Boston Consulting Group, where he led transformation projects for many major global airlines in North America and Europe from the New York and Zurich offices. 

In his free time, Chris also follows his passion for aviation, flying everything with wings, from floatplanes in the Canadian North to bush-planes in the South African bushveld.

Kirsten joined WestJet in April 2022 as Executive Vice-President Cargo.

She has been instrumental in building the airline’s dedicated cargo capabilities and service offerings, while growing a high-performing cargo organization capable of succeeding within a rapidly evolving market.

With a large portfolio of air cargo experience and more than 15 years in the airline industry, Kirsten joins WestJet Cargo from Qatar Airways, where she served as Senior Vice President Cargo Sales and Network Planning. During her time at Qatar Airways, Kirsten managed the airline’s global cargo sales organization including product development and marketing and was responsible for the freighter network planning department. Prior to her tenure at Qatar Airways, Kirsten served as Vice President, Cargo Pricing and Interline at Emirates Sky Cargo.

Samantha Taylor joined Sunwing in March 2020 as Chief Marketing Officer and, in August 2023 was appointed Chief Marketing & Digital Officer of Sunwing Vacations Group, the vacation division of the WestJet Group. She also joined WestJet’s executive leadership team in October 2023.

As Chief Marketing & Digital Officer, Samantha’s portfolio includes leading all Marketing, Communications, Digital, Customer Data & Analytics, and People & Culture activities across Sunwing Vacations Group, which is comprised of Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations, Vacation Express, SellOffVacations and Luxe Destination Weddings.

Before joining Sunwing, Samantha held a variety of executive leadership roles including Chief Marketing Officer at Indigo and Director of Sales and Consumer Products at Mattel. Consistently leveraging customer insights to drive innovation, Samantha’s track record for growth and eye for brand marketing is a driving force behind Sunwing Vacations Group.

Driven by data, research and digital marketing trends, Samantha uses an empathetic and people-first approach to bolster her team to excellence.

Samantha holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Toronto in International Relations.

Tanya Foster joined WestJet’s executive leadership team in January 2023. As WestJet’s Chief Information Officer, she oversees all aspects of the airline’s IT capabilities, ensuring WestJet’s technology platforms are efficient, easy to use and cost effective. Tanya plays a critical role in facilitating the WestJet employee and guest experience.

Prior to joining WestJet Tanya spent over 20 years in the telecom and cable industry driving technology transformation. Tanya served in a variety of executive technology roles and previously was the Vice President of Enterprise Solutions and Strategic Delivery at Shaw Communications.  Tanya is highly experienced in partnering with stakeholders to drive topline revenue, create business efficiencies and manage business risk through the delivery of modern technology solutions. Her people-first approach to leadership is a key component of her ability to deliver technological and digital excellence to all aspects of WestJet’s business.  

Tanya holds a Bachelor of Management from the University of Lethbridge majoring in Accounting and Information Systems.