Richard Cleaz-Savoyen is managing director of revenue optimization at Air Canada. Richard found a career in RM by chance. He had applied to do a MS in aerospace engineering to work in aerodynamics and aircraft design but upon arriving secured a GRA with Peter Belobaba and switched to the RM area. Richard likes working in RM because he can quickly see the impact of models he develops applied in the real world.
One of the most exciting projects that Richard is working on is the development of a roadmap for the next four to five years to support a transition to offer management. “Offer management is going to be one of the biggest transformations in RM that we have seen in the last decade and it’s going to touch every part of the business — from RM, distribution, and digital e-commerce to workflows and the tools we need,” Richard says. Richard envisions a future in which the RM department partners with other departments and expands its influence and responsibilities to support a future of offer optimization.
For students interested in RM, Richard encourages them “to be curious and never hesitate to reach out” to those in the airline RM community. In fact, that’s how Caroline Dietrich was hired at Air Canada — by directly reaching out to Richard to learn more about RM!
Interested in learning more about Richard? Check out his LinkedIn page. But one story you will not find about Richard online is that one time, when flying standby from Paris (and not on Air Canada!), he sat in the cockpit for takeoff and landing!