The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Ben Smith, the No. 2 executive at Air Canada, will be named chief executive officer of Air FranceKLM today. The Globe's Greg Keenan writes that Mr. Smith, 46, had been the clear front-runner to replace Calin Rovinescu as the next CEO of Air Canada. He departs after playing a major role alongside Mr. Rovinescu in the airline's turnaround after the 2008-09 recession and its trip through creditor protection earlier in the 2000s. Air Canada has in recent years reported the highest profits in its 80-year history and its shares have soared to a close of $23.40 in trading in Toronto on Wednesday from $1.26 in 2010. "Calin's sort of the deal-maker and the mergers-and-acquisitions guy and the restructuring guy. Ben has been the driver of Air Canada's commercial strategy," said Robert Kokonis, president of consulting firm AirTrav Inc. Mr. Smith began his airline career in 1990 as a unionized sales and customer service agent at Air Ontario. Air France-KLM, which operates 340 planes, compared with 229 for Air Canada's mainline and Rouge operations. The Franco-Dutch airline carried 98 million passengers last year, more than double the 47.8 million Air Canada travellers.