WestJet names CFO interim chief executive as search for permanent replacement ongoing

WestJet Airlines has named Harry Taylor its interim president and CE. Taylor has been WestJet’s CFO since 2015. He will assume the interim CEO role between late November and mid-December 2021. Taylor will replace current WestJet CE Ed Sims, who announced in June his plans to retire at the end of this year. Sims has been CEO since May of 2017. Jennifer Bue, WestJet’s current vice-president of finance planning and analysis, has been named interim CFO. WestJet says Taylor played a key role in helping steer the airline through the COVID-19 pandemic. He was responsible for managing WestJet’s liquidity at a time when little to no revenue was coming in. Taylor also led WestJet’s first US bond issue and negotiated the purchase of the airline’s new Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Boeing MAX aircraft.<br/>