The recent issue of The CIO World titled ” Top 10 Most Influential Chief Digital Officers to Follow in 2025″ takes us on an unforgettable journey about the career of Christian Novosel, the Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer of WestJet.
Since a very young age, Christian was interested in flying. His interest turned into his passion and career. While studying in university, he earned his pilot’s license. He still finds time from his executive responsibilities to pursue his passion for flying.
Being the EVP and Chief Digital Officer of WestJet, he enhances client experience and the airline’s efficiency by combining aviation excellence with data-driven innovation. He ensures WestJet’s digital transformation through his unique efforts.
The CIO World applauds Christian’s dedication towards successfully implementing WestJet’s five-pronged digital strategy, which includes cultivating digital mindsets, maximizing automation, treating data as an asset, delivering value swiftly, and growing digital talent.
As a seasoned leader, Christian has spread his wings across organizations such as JetBlue, Lufthansa Group, and Austrian Airlines. He has played essential roles in these companies including cost optimization, building data cultures, and enabling crisis-time digital innovation.
The CIO World is proud to feature Christian Novosel, who has created centralized data teams, agile product groups, and fostered cross-functional collaboration with clear objectives and business impact. This has resulted in the transformation of the face of WestJet’s digital organization.
The CIO World sheds the spotlight on various partnerships with airports, startups, and governments, which were facilitated by Christian. Under his leadership, the company has worked on noteworthy projects such as the Alberta Aerospace Innovation Hub—a new incubator advancing aviation technology in Calgary. As a responsible leader, Christian has guided WestJet to launch several impactful digital products, which have improved guest satisfaction and operational efficiency.
The CIO World salutes Christian’s dedication towards building strong teams. He ensures that various company-wide events such as Digital Day are conducted with total zeal and responsibility. By launching the Innovation Awards, Christian intends to recognize digital excellence and inspire a high-performance culture. Christian always ensures that workflows are streamlined, and every task is executed to perfection. He believes in achieving quality results out of concerted endeavors.
As mentioned before, Christian spreads his wings beyond WestJet, and actively participates in broader tech and aviation communities, contributes on advisory boards, speaking engagements, and helps position Calgary as a global innovation leader in aerospace.
