The Board of Directors for Edmonton Airports has announced that Tom Ruth will step down as president and CEO at the end of 2022.

According to Edmonton International Airport (EIA), during his nine-year tenure, Tom Ruth ‘has been a visionary leader, inspiring major changes, growth and innovation, and imagining something much bigger than a traditional airport’.

Under his leadership, EIA has seen significant growth in both passenger and air cargo service, connecting the Edmonton Metropolitan Region with direct flights to over 50 destinations within Canada, the US and Europe, and cargo to and from Asia. Ruth has also advanced development of the Airport City Sustainability Campus at EIA, with more than C$1.3bn in private investment, including hotels, a casino, shopping centres, major business and innovation developments including its five-year Innovation Expansion strategy. He has overseen the development of technology and agriculture accelerators connecting local and international businesses to new markets. EIA will soon welcome Airport City Solar, the largest solar farm at an airport in the world.

A global search for Tom Ruth’s successor will be launched immediately, with a request for proposal (RFP) for an executive search firm to be issued in the coming days.

“Our President and CEO doesn’t just run an airport. They make things happen. They are a trailblazer. They drive performance and achieve results. And they do that while inspiring people inside Edmonton Airports and with our external partners. Tom will be leaving big shoes to fill,” said Joan Hertz, Chair of the Board of Directors, Edmonton Airports.

Edmonton International Airport is a self-funded, not-for-profit corporation. It is Canada’s fifth-busiest airport by passenger traffic and the largest major Canadian airport by land area.