Air Canada CEO debut a PR disaster following comments on French, say experts
Global News
``I can't remember a more tone deaf and ham-fisted handling of a new CEO's debut on the public stage than this,'' said Bob Pickard, a veteran public relations expert.
Air Canada’s new chief executive ignited a PR disaster by his inept handling about the French language that could have repercussions for the airline as it attempts to get back on its feet from the COVID-19 pandemic, say public relations experts.
“I can’t remember a more tone deaf and ham-fisted handling of a new CEO’s debut on the public stage than this,” said Bob Pickard, a veteran public relations expert and principal at Signal Leadership Communication Inc.
While former Air Canada chief financial officer Michael Rousseau may be very capable, Pickard said his maiden speech as CEO Wednesday — almost entirely in English, his defensive response to reporters and then unsatisfactory apology — demonstrate a failure of emotional, cultural, communications and social intelligence.
Rousseau should have addressed his language shortcomings head-on and either not made the speech to begin with, or proactively addressed them.
Instead, he showed great disrespect to Air Canada employees and customers, especially by releasing an apology on the company’s website instead of a personal video where he tried to strike the right chord of contrition, Pickard said in an interview.
“He should be saying sorry, not just for those who were offended, which is PR 101 nowadays.”
Canadian politicians piled on Rousseau, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling it “an unacceptable situation,” noting that the minister in charge of official languages is “following up.”
The New Democratic Party called for Rousseau’s resignation. NDP deputy leader Alexandre Boulerice, the party’s lone MP in Quebec, says Rousseau was “spitting in the face of Quebecers and all members of French-speaking communities across the country.”