Edward Sims is a New Zealand businessman who served as president and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

WestJet Airlines WestJet Airlines, is a Canadian airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Founded in 1994, it is the second-largest airline in Canada and the eighth-largest airline in North America by frequency. It began operations in 1996 with 220 employee ...

between 2018 and 2021. He started with the company on May 28, 2017 as the executive vice president of commercial. Sims has a history of senior positions with airlines such as

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...

TUI Airways TUI Airways Limited (formerly Thomson Airways Limited) is the British arm of the TUI Airline group, which is owned and operated by the TUI Group. They offer scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland to destinations in E ...

Thomas Cook Airlines Thomas Cook Airlines Limited was a British charter and scheduled airline headquartered in Manchester, England. It was founded in 2007 from the merger of Thomas Cook Group and MyTravel Group, and was part of the Thomas Cook Group Airlines. It s ...

, and travel companies such as Virgin Travel Group. Sims’ most recent position before WestJet was the CEO of

Airways New Zealand Airways New Zealand (Airways Corporation of New Zealand Limited) is the sole Air Traffic Service provider in New Zealand. The company was created 1987 as a State-Owned Enterprise having formerly being a division of the Ministry of Transport, ...

, Air New Zealand's air navigation service provider Sims began his work in the travel industry in the United Kingdom, but has also worked in European and Australasian travel markets.

WestJet (2017 to 2021)

Sims joined WestJet as the executive vice president of commercial on May 28, 2017. He was promoted to CEO on March 7, 2018 after the CEO at the time, Gregg Saretsky unexpectedly stepped down. He worked on both strategic direction and day-to-day operations for the company. Sims retired from his position at WestJet in 2021. He continues to serve as an advisor to WestJet's parent company, Onex.

Airways New Zealand (2011 to 2017)

Sims served as the CEO of

, an air traffic service provider, from July 4, 2011 to May 26, 2017.

Air New Zealand (2001 to 2010)

Sims served for ten years with Air New Zealand. He began in 2001 as vice-president of retail, then in 2002 he was promoted to the vice-president of marketing and alliances. His longest serving role with the company began in December 2003 where he led the international wide-body business. In this role he had the responsibility of the international cabin crew, long haul fleet induction and refurbishment programmes.

References

Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Nationality missing Chief executives in the airline industry WestJet people Year of birth missing (living people) {{NewZealand-business-bio-stub