The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) announced through its interim chairman of the board, Bill Mahoney, that the organization’s president and CEO Bernard Gervais will be leaving the organization in the summer.

Gervais recently informed the COPA Board of his desire to leave his leadership position after serving as its head for five years.

With two key events just months away, COPA’s Annual General Meeting and Convention planned for Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu from June 25 to 27, and the biennial International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA) World Assembly in Montreal from June 29 to July 3, both the Board and Gervais mutually agreed that he would serve until after those two events in order to ensure their successful planning and execution.

“Over the last five years, Bernard has worked relentlessly to help General Aviation across Canada and, under his leadership, COPA developed and strengthened the necessary relationships with organizations all across the country and with our major stakeholders including Transport Canada, Nav Canada, AOPA and IAOPA, always in line with our mission of advancing, promoting and preserving our freedom to fly,” said Mahoney in a statement. “We are proud of our accomplishments over those five years and we wish Bernard all the best in his future endeavors.”

COPA is currently seeking a replacement in order to provide for an overlap and ensure a smooth transition for his replacement. Please see the job description here.