Angela Avery joins WestJet as executive vice-president, general counsel, corporate secretary

Angela Avery will be joining WestJet as its executive vice-president, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective Feb. 17.  Avery brings more than 25 years of legal and business experience to WestJet, including in-house and leadership experience from companies such as TC Energy, ConocoPhillips and Athabasca Oil Corporation.

 Reporting to WestJet’s president and chief executive officer, Avery will be performing legal and compliance functions in collaboration with the company’s board of directors, Onex and other important stakeholders.

Ed Sims, president and CEO of WestJet, has commended Avery for her extensive legal background, which would help the company execute its global strategy. “We welcome Angela at a crucial time and look forward to her guidance on some of our most important projects,” says Sims. “We are fortunate to have her join our talented team.”

For her part, Avery has expressed enthusiasm in joining the team. “WestJet’s journey is something I have watched and admired since 1996 and I look forward to working with the team, regulators and others to help ensure WestJet’s success at home and on a global scale,” Avery says.

Admitted to the bars of Alberta and New York, Avery first worked as an associate for Bennett Jones

LLP before joining the legal secretariat of the United Nations Compensation Commission. In Geneva, Switzerland, she prepared and presented war reparations claims in relation to the first Gulf War, states her LinkedIn page. 

Outside of her legal and business career, Avery is also an active advocate for community causes. She has served on the boards of organizations such as the Calgary Zoo Society, the Canadian Energy Law Foundation, YMCA Calgary and Art Commons.