Transat A.T. Inc.: Michel Lemay appointed Chief Brand Officer

Jean-Marc Eustache, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transat A.T. Inc., is pleased to announce that effective today, Michel Lemay, the company’s Vice-President, Communications and Corporate Affairs, becomes its Chief Brand Officer as well.

“Transat encompasses dozens of major brands, national or international, which together account for some three million travellers,” Mr. Eustache said. “The role of Chief Brand Officer is to increase the value of the complete Transat brand portfolio, by advancing a strategy that ensures relevance, differentiation and coherence and that is reflected in the field in the travel services we provide. This work has begun, and will be actively pursued in the months to come under Michel’s guidance.”

Mr. Lemay, who retains his current responsibilities, has held the position of Vice-President, Communications and Corporate Affairs, at Transat since March 2006. A seasoned communications expert, he has nearly 30 years’ experience, most notably with Cossette Communication Group, the Montreal Exchange and the Société du Palais des congrès de Montréal. Widely acknowledged for his strategic acumen and rigour, Mr. Lemay has made his mark in such areas as reputation management, investor relations as well as issues and crisis management. He holds degrees in Graphic Communications from Université Laval and in Marketing from Université de Montréal’s École des Hautes Études Commerciales. His other responsibilities at Transat include external and internal communications, investor relations, media relations, corporate responsibility and philanthropy, along with many corporate affairs and public relations files.

Increasingly, organizations are appointing chief brand officers with a view to developing a coherent vision of their brand portfolio and turning it into a competitive advantage. As the brand’s champion both in-house and externally, the chief brand officer oversees the brand promise, the organizations reputation, services (the customer experience) and all communications initiatives.

Transat A.T. Inc. is an integrated international tour operator with more than 60 destination countries and that distributes products in over 50 countries. A holiday travel specialist, Transat operates mainly in Canada and Europe, as well as in the Caribbean, Mexico and the Mediterranean Basin. Montreal-based Transat is also active in air transportation, accommodation, destination services and distribution. (TSX: TRZ.B, TRZ.A)