New leader takes the helm at First Air

First Air and Canadian North merged on Friday, September 28, and today, the Board of Directors announced a change of leadership.

The Board announced that Chris Avery has been appointed as the new First Air President and Chief Executive Officer. He was formerly the Vice-President of Customer and Commercial Operations at the airline.

Mr. Avery joined First Air in 2017 and has taken on progressively more senior positions in his 25 years of aviation and travel industry experience, including senior management positions at WestJet, Alaska Airlines, Canadian Airlines International, and Transat Holidays.

Mr. Johnny Adams will concurrently take on a greater role in the airline as Executive Chairman, expanding his role as the current Chairman of the First Air Board. Mr. Adams has a long history of public and private executive service in the Nunavik region and beyond, and extensive business experience as an entrepreneur. Mr. Adams has served on the First Air board of directors for over ten years and since June 2017, has been the Chairman of the First Air Board of Directors.

“With our new planned partnership with Inuvialuit Corporate Group, we are focusing on cooperative relationships with our new partners and on the customers and communities we currently serve as well as on strategic opportunities on the horizon. We have great confidence in Mr. Avery’s abilities to deliver on this new direction.”

The Board and Makivik Corporation wish to express their sincere appreciation for the leadership of Mr. Brock Friesen in his role as President and Chief Executive Officer. “I’m pleased to support these changes at First Air,” stated Makivik President Charlie Watt. “Friday was an historic day for Inuit and Inuvialuit as we signed an agreement to merge the two airlines by the end of the year. We are embarking in a new era of northern aviation, and we would like to thank Brock Friesen for his five years of service to First Air as President and CEO.”