Lead candidate to head Air France-KLM is Air Canada's COO - Le Monde

Air France-KLM's nominations committee has picked Benjamin Smith, Air Canada's COO, as its preferred candidate to head the airline, French newspaper Le Monde reported Wednesday. Le Monde quoted an unnamed senior Air France-KLM official as saying that no decision had yet been taken and that the final decision lay with the company's board of directors. Air France-KLM has been hunting for a new boss since the abrupt departure of CE Jean-Marc Janaillac in May after staff rejected a pay offer aimed at ending costly strikes. Senior French officials familiar with president Emmanuel Macron's thinking have said he is open to considering a non-French national to lead the group for the first time. The appointment is seen as a test of Macron's resolve regarding the state taking a lighter touch on the economy. <br/>