Montreal's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 18
MONTRÉAL’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
18
Air Canada champions empathy and career growth
“I
could write a book
about all the things
that happened to
me at 35,000 feet in
the air,” says Hugo
Phaneuf, training and delivery
manager for Air Canada. After a
long career as an in-flight service
director based in Montréal, he
is doing something he never
expected: facilitating leadership
and empathy training for
thousands of employees — in
both French and English.
“When the opportunity came
up to deliver some sessions in
English, I said, ‘No, no, no. I can’t.’
Twenty years ago, someone told
me I should never do public
speaking in English because of
my French-Canadian accent,
and I carried that message,” says
Phaneuf.
I’m a huge believer in
betting on yourself
and betting on the
company.
—Arielle Meloul-Wechsler
Executive Vice-President,
Chief Human Resources Officer
and Public Affairs
Once he took the leap, he
realized the negative self-talk was
a mirage. “This role has given me
so much self-confidence. In class, I
introduce myself as ‘Hugo 2.0.’ I’m
a better version of myself,” he says.
His tenure of 31 years allows
Phaneuf to build rapport quickly
with a diverse workforce. “They
come from maintenance, cargo,
in-flight, finance. Some have
Air Canada team members delivering care and class at the Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International
Airport.
been here only a month, others
over 40 years.” The experiential
structure of the Elevate program
gives participants tools and an
action plan to apply the training
in empathy and active listening.
Arielle Meloul-Wechsler,
executive vice-president, chief
human resources officer and
public affairs, did not plan on
becoming a human resources
leader at Air Canada. As a lawyer
in private practice in Montréal,
she specialized in mergers
and acquisitions, but she saw
the appeal of directly shaping
business outcomes.
“As external counsel, you
give advice, but it can go into a
black hole,” she says. Her early
years at Air Canada in the late
1990s were challenging as the
airline underwent numerous
restructurings. Her expertise
proved to be a key asset during
the tumult. “It gave me a very
deep understanding of the
company, literally inside and out,”
she adds.
By 2011, the airline had
weathered the 2009 global
financial crisis but employee
morale had suffered. When she
was offered a lateral move to lead
human resources to improve the
internal culture, Meloul-Wechsler
hesitated. “I took the job but as a
lawyer I negotiated that if I didn’t
like it, I’d go back to the legal
department. My CEO said, ‘Trust
me, you’ll never want to’ and he
was right. There is nothing more
