Lisa Pierce, a figure synonymous with Air Canada for nearly four decades, has announced her retirement at the end of the year. Currently VP of Global Sales, the popular Pierce has held a variety of positions with the airline during her lengthy tenure. She will be replaced by François Choquette, who is currently Managing Director, Revenue Management.
Announced in a Flash update late last week, the company said Choquette would act as Head of Sales at Air Canada, assuming sales responsibilities from Pierce.
Himself a 25-year veteran of the Canadian travel industry, Choquette started his career in the maintenance department at Air Canada before moving to the commercial side where he worked in alliances and Aeroplan before moving to France to head sales for Air Canada in southern Europe for several years.
After coming back to Canada, Choquette took a position with a tour operator as head of E-Commerce and International Sales for a few years, after which he rejoined the Air Canada sales team, responsible for Specialty, OTAs and Québec agencies. He then moved to Revenue Management department, in charge of the Transatlantic team and, recently, all International RM teams in the Transpacific and South America network.
Choquette also sits on the board of Tourism Montreal, the France-Canada Chamber of Commerce in Paris, and small non-profit organizations in Montréal. He will be reporting to Alexandre Lefevre, who was recently appointed VP, Network Planning & Global Sales.
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