Air Canada named Anko Van der Werff as its next president and chief executive on Wednesday, concluding a succession process that was unusually shaped by linguistic politics. The current SAS chief will take over by the end of January 2027, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of Michael Rousseau, whose inability to communicate in French had drawn sharp public and political criticism in Canada. The appointment resolves months of leadership uncertainty at the country’s largest carrier.

The language controversy became a defining criterion for the role after Rousseau failed to offer condolences in French following a fatal crash. Air Canada explicitly stated that proficiency in French was among the performance requirements for his replacement. Van der Werff, a Dutch national, addressed the issue directly by releasing a video message entirely in French, pledging to continue the airline’s growth strategy. He brings 25 years of international aviation experience, having held senior roles at Avianca, Aeroméxico, Qatar Airways, and KLM, and speaks multiple languages including English, Spanish, Italian, and Swedish.

Viewed from Stockholm, the departure comes at a delicate moment for SAS. Van der Werff had just unveiled a SEK 100 billion order for 39 Airbus A330-family long-haul aircraft, a bold expansion aimed at restoring the airline’s historic reach to Africa and South America. He leaves SAS in a markedly stronger position after steering it through a painful restructuring and the entry of Air France-KLM as majority owner, with the Danish state remaining a minority shareholder while Sweden and Norway exited. The board praised his “strong leadership” and will now launch a search for a successor. In Canada, the appointment is seen as a resolution to a reputational challenge, with the incoming CEO set to relocate to Montreal.

Van der Werff will remain at SAS until his departure, with the airline’s executive committee reporting to the board during a transition period and Rousseau available as needed. The next factual milestone is the initiation of SAS’s CEO succession process, which will be closely watched given the carrier’s ambitious fleet expansion and its deepening integration into the Air France-KLM group.