Sean Durfy, president and CEO of WestJet, leans on a globe outside the airline's offices.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
The president and CEO of WestJet Airlines Ltd. has resigned.
Sean Durfy will give up his post on April 1 and leave WestJet's board of directors, according to a statement released on Monday evening.
Gregg Saretsky, who joined WestJet last summer, will take the reins as president and chief executive officer. Mr. Saretsky was an executive with now-defunct Canadian Airlines for 13 years.
Mr. Durfy said that he is leaving for personal reasons and that he will stay until Sept. 1 to smooth the transition to a new CEO.
"Those things I set out to accomplish at WestJet have now been achieved and I believe this is an appropriate time to allow others to carry the torch while I spend more time with my young family," he said in the release.
He has been with the company since 2004 and has been president since September, 2006. He added the CEO title in 2007. The Calgary-based airline praised Mr. Durfy for spearheading several strategic growth initiatives, including the launch of its vacation package business as well as the implementation of two new reservation systems, airline partnerships and reward programs.
The past several months have been rocky for WestJet.
The airline introduced a new reservation system on Oct. 17, but the launch was riddled with disruptions that eroded fourth-quarter revenue, including website crashes and long waits to get through to the carrier's call centre.
WestJet recently said its 2009 profit fell 45 per cent to $98.2-million. Its fourth-quarter profit declined 52 per cent to $20.2-million. But given the recession and glitches with the computer reservations system, the carrier's executives said they were proud to have posted the 19th consecutive quarter of profit.
Before joining WestJet, Mr. Durfy was president and chief operating officer at Calgary-based utility Enmax Energy Corp. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University in Halifax.
Founded in 1996, the low-cost WestJet didn't fly east of Manitoba until 2000. It now serves 69 cities in North America and the Caribbean.
WestJet has grown steadily from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland in recent years, as Air Canada shifted its attention to U.S. and overseas flights because, historically, long-haul routes carry the highest profit margins.
Mr. Saretsky is well positioned to enhance his predecessor's accomplishments, WestJet chairman Clive Beddoe said.
At Alaska Airlines, Mr. Saretsky developed a network of partners among the U.S. airlines and an award-winning rewards program. He was also "instrumental in the establishment of many cost-saving initiatives, making Alaska one of the most efficient airlines in North America," WestJet said.
"He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the president and CEO role and we are confident his background will provide the leadership and experience required to achieve our strategic plans," Mr. Beddoe stated.
With files from the Canadian Press