It is a virtual unknown who had to take on Monday 17 September, the general management of Air France-KLM. Rare are those, trade unionists, leaders of the transport air or industrial aircraft, which have already met with Benjamin Smith.
At the age of 47 years old, Canadian, born of an australian father and a mother from hong kong, is a man in a hurry. Within Air Canada, the main company of the country, Mr. Smith has climbed up four-to-four steps of power. “He quickly rose in the company, to the position of number two, point to all Leslie Dias and Benoît Lapointe, respectively, national representative and steward Uniforms and equipment, one of the main representative organisations of Air Canada with 5 000 unionized about 27 000 employees.
Benjamin (Ben) Smith is a fallen small in the pot of the air transport. Still a student in licence of economics, he is already working in an airline, Air Ontario. Has just graduated from a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the university of Western Ontario, he opened a travel agency at the destination of the business. The adventure will last a little less than ten years. In 2002 he joined Air Canada. At the time, the company is not the best. Since its privatization in 1989, it has experienced some ups but mainly a lot of the bottom up to be placed into receivership in 2003.
Paradoxically, this wrong password will be the chance of Ben Smith and allow him to do his evidence. In particular, it is responsible for initiating Tango, the first subsidiary low cost of Air Canada. The experience is not truly successful. Tango beats very fast to the wing and to stop the fees in 2004.
The career of the man that the employees have nicknamed “Ti Ben” because of his small size will not be affected. And for good reason. Calin Rovinescu, at the time in charge of the restructuring of the company, takes him under his wing. Moreover, when, according to our information,…
