WestJet CFO quits, executive exodus continues
Time was right to 'make a change'
BRENT JANG
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
WestJet Airlines Ltd.'s chief financial officer will leave the company in June, making him the third key executive to depart in less than two years.
(and the second executive to leave the low-cost carrier in five months)
Alexander (Sandy) Campbell, who joined WestJet three months after the discount carrier's launch in 1996, will help choose his successor, the Calgary-based airline said yesterday.
Mr. Campbell, 46, became CFO in 1997, and his departure creates an opening in the seven-person executive group headed by chairman and chief executive officer Clive Beddoe.
"Although it will be difficult to say goodbye to such a great team of people, I have decided that now is the best time for me to make a change," Mr. Campbell said in a statement. His final workday is slated for June 15, after which he plans to take a summer break with his family at their getaway in Prince Edward Island.
"It saddens me to be losing such a valued member of our executive team," Mr. Beddoe said in a release.
In July, 2004, WestJet co-founder Mark Hill resigned as vice-president of strategic planning after rival Air Canada sued WestJet for allegedly spying on the larger carrier. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Last October, another co-founder, Tim Morgan, stepped down as WestJet executive vice-president of operations for "personal reasons." Mr. Beddoe and Donald Bell, executive vice-president of culture and airports, are the remaining two of four co-founders.
(Some industry observers have speculated that Morgan, a former pilot responsible for WestJet's flight operations and maintenance, quit because he opposed changes to the airline's no-frills business strategy)
Ted Larkin, an analyst with Orion Securities Inc., said that, whenever a top executive leaves, it tends to create uncertainty in the minds of investors until a successor in named. But Mr. Larkin said he expects WestJet's executive search to yield a strong candidate to oversee the books of the profitable airline.
Mr. Campbell collected almost $457,000 in compensation in 2004, including $253,650 in stock option gains, according to WestJet's 2005 circular. He also holds 130,588 WestJet shares, recent regulatory filings show.
"We believe Mr. Campbell is simply ready to take some time out to smell the roses before accepting any new challenges," National Bank Financial Inc. analyst David Newman said in a note yesterday.
WestJet, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last month, became a publicly traded company in 1999. WestJet shares fell 26 cents to $11.06 yesterday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
(The news, however, prompted Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Linenberg to downgrade WestJet's stock from buy to neutral."While it appears on the surface the departures were personal in nature, given that the company is in a critical phase of its growth with 2006 and 2007 capacity expected to increase 14 and 10 per cent respectively, we think the departures of key personnel create an uncertain outlook," Linenberg said in a research note.
Never feel sorry for a "bean counter".
