MONTREAL, July 5, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - Groupe Aeroplan Inc. (TSX: AER) announced today that Kevin O'Brien is named Chief Commercial Officer, Aeroplan Canada and that Michael O'Sullivan will take on the position of President, Carlson Marketing Canada on August 2, 2011.

"We are very pleased to welcome Michael to our team and to hand Aeroplan's leadership to Kevin," said Vince Timpano, President & Chief Executive Officer, Groupe Aeroplan Canada. "Michael and Kevin both bring strong leadership, an ability to build solid business partnerships and a proven track record of success."

Kevin O'Brien

After 16 years of consulting in corporate strategy, including 8 years at SECOR Consulting where he became Managing Partner, Mr. O'Brien joined Aeroplan Canada, Canada's premier coalition loyalty program, in 2009 as Vice President, Strategy and Planning. In his previous functions at Aeroplan, he was in charge of corporate strategy, planning, business development and business performance management. He played a key leadership role in creating Aeroplan's successful corporate strategy.

"I am very happy to accept this new challenge at Aeroplan and am eager to work with my colleagues to accelerate the execution of the strategies that we have collectively laid out, with the goal of maintaining Aeroplan's unrivaled position in the Canadian loyalty market," declared Mr. O'Brien.

During his career, Mr. O'Brien also co-founded Diesel Think Tank, a Canadian consulting company focused on closer integration between primary customer research and business strategy and worked at Mercer Management Consulting.

Mr. O'Brien holds a bachelor degree from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario and is a member of its Advisory Board.

Michael O'Sullivan

Mr. O'Sullivan has been a member of the Carlson Marketing team since 2004. As Senior Vice President Asia Pacific (from 2006 to 2010) and General Manager of Australia (from 2004 to 2006), his leadership helped transform Carlson Marketing's Australian business into one of the most successful operations in its global network.

"I am excited to join Carlson Marketing Canada and Groupe Aeroplan Canada at such an important time in their evolution," stated Mr. O'Sullivan. "Carlson Marketing Canada is a great business with a remarkable list of achievements in the relationship building industry. I am looking forward to working with the team to reinforce our leadership position in the Canadian loyalty market."

Before joining Carlson Marketing, Mr O'Sullivan's career encompassed mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategy and management consulting across the travel, technology, automotive and banking sectors. Mr. O'Sullivan has also been an owner and co-founder of several successful start-ups such as Fuel Marketing Solutions, a successful business-to-business marketing company he founded and led until 2003.

Mr. O'Sullivan is a Non Executive Director of Patientrack, a UK based hospital risk management system.

Mr. O'Sullivan holds an Economics Degree and a Masters in Applied Finance. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

About Aeroplan Canada

Aeroplan, Canada's premier coalition loyalty program, is owned by Groupe Aeroplan Inc., a global leader in loyalty management. Aeroplan's millions of members earn Aeroplan Miles with its growing network of over 75 world-class partners, representing more than 150 brands in the financial, retail, and travel sectors.

In 2010, over 2 million rewards were issued to members including more than 1.3 million flights on Air Canada and Star Alliance carriers which offer travel to more than 1,000 destinations worldwide. In addition to flights, members also have access to over 800 exciting specialty, merchandise, hotel, car rental and experiential rewards. 

For more information about Aeroplan, please visit www.aeroplan.com or www.groupeaeroplan.com.

About Carlson Marketing

Carlson Marketing is the world's leading relationship marketing company - we design and deliver loyalty and engagement programs for some of the world's best known brands. Carlson Marketing Canada has offices in Toronto and Montreal. Carlson Marketing has large regional offices in Toronto, London and Sydney. For more information, please visit: www.carlsonmarketing.ca.

About Groupe Aeroplan Inc.

Groupe Aeroplan Inc., a global leader in loyalty management, owns Aeroplan, Canada's premier coalition loyalty program, Carlson Marketing, an international loyalty marketing services, engagement and events provider , as well as Nectar, the United Kingdom's largest coalition loyalty program. Groupe Aeroplan also operates LMG Insight & Communication, an international customer-driven insight and data analytics business. In addition, Groupe Aeroplan has majority equity positions in Air Miles Middle East and Nectar Italia as well as a minority position in Club Premier, Mexico's leading coalition loyalty program. For more information about Groupe Aeroplan, please visit groupeaeroplan.com.