WestJet CFO Harry Taylor will serve as the WestJet Group's interim president and CEO when current president and CEO Ed Sims retires later this year, the company announced.
Taylor has been with WestJet since 2015, when he joined as EVP and CFO, and has "been an integral part of our pandemic planning and recovery," WestJet Group board chair Chris Burley said. He also was "instrumental" in the carrier's sale to investment firm Onex Corp., which took the company private, according to the group.
Sims, WestJet's CEO since 2018, announced in June that he would retire at the end of the year, and a transition period will begin sometime from late November to early December, according to the group. WestJet VP of finance planning and analysis Jennifer Bue will serve as interim CFO while Taylor handles CEO duties.
The group is still conducting a global search for a permanent CEO, according to Burley.