Aimia Realigns Board with New Strategic Direction

New, highly qualified independent director nominated; significant reduction in Board size as part of ongoing Board renewal

MONTREAL, May 29, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Loyalty and travel-focused consolidator Aimia Inc. (TSX: AIM) announces that it intends to file and mail in the coming days its management information circular in connection with the upcoming Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on June 28, 2019 (the "Meeting"). In addition, Linda Kuga Pikulin, an experienced business leader, has been nominated for election as an independent director at the Meeting. Current directors Brian Edwards and Emma Griffin will not be standing for re-election at the Meeting.

Consistent with its commitment to right-size and realign the Board of Directors with the company's strategic direction, the Board is expected to be comprised of six directors following the Meeting, compared to nine directors a year ago and the twelve directors presented in the 2017 management information circular. Aimia will continue to evaluate the optimal skills mix and Board size to ensure alignment with the company's strategy and leadership needs.

Bill McEwan, Chairman of the Board of Directors, commented, "We are excited about the opportunity to have Linda as an independent nominee to our board. Her successful track record executing focused growth strategies and complex integrations will be highly relevant as Aimia moves forward with its consolidation strategy. In addition, Linda's extensive experience driving profitable growth, as a business leader and change agent, will provide invaluable insight as Aimia executes its plan to evolve the current business." 

"Aimia has a tremendous opportunity to create long-term value as a consolidator in the loyalty and travel space, as we execute on our recently announced strategic business plan," continued Bill McEwan. "A properly sized Board with the right skills is critical to advancing our plan. Aimia is fortunate to add such a high caliber nominee to our company's leadership. I'm confident that having Linda's significant operational and integration expertise on the Board will help accelerate the company's progress." 

With this addition, Aimia's Board includes directors with deep expertise in capital markets and M&A, investment analysis, integration and oversight as well as executive leadership and corporate governance – all skills the company believes will help it successfully execute its current strategy and create long-term value.

"I would also like to express my sincere gratitude on behalf of the Board and the entire company for both Emma and Brian's service to the company and its shareholders," added Bill McEwan. "They have been trusted and valued colleagues and we wish them well in all their future endeavors."

Additional details regarding the director nominees will be included in Aimia's management information circular, which will be available in the coming days on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.aimia.com.

New Director Nominee Biography

Linda Kuga Pikulin is a former PepsiCo executive with significant North American operating, integration and corporate development experience. She served as the President of PepsiCo Beverages Canada from June 2010 to February 2011 and led the complex integration of PepsiCo's brand and bottling businesses to position the company for long-term growth, building a new leadership team as well as driving increased sales and significant cost synergies. From 1998 to 2010, she served as the President of the Pepsi Bottling Group Canada responsible for the sales, manufacturing, merchandising and distribution of Pepsi products. Under her leadership, the bottling company delivered unprecedented market share and profit growth. Prior to leading the Canadian business, she was appointed to lead field operations in two of PepsiCo's largest US businesses. Ms. Pikulin serves as an independent director of electricity utility Enersource Corporation. Since June 2018, she has also served as an independent director of IPL Plastics, a global plastics manufacturer. Ms. Pikulin is an active community leader, serving on the Trillium Health Partners Foundation Board, and is a previous Campaign Chair for the United Way.

About Aimia 

Aimia Inc. (TSX: AIM) is a loyalty and travel consolidator focused on growing earnings through its existing investments and the targeted deployment of capital in loyalty solutions and other sub-sectors of the rapidly-expanding loyalty and travel markets.

Its investments in travel loyalty include the Club Premier program in Mexico, which it jointly controls with Aeromexico through its investment in PLM, and an investment alongside Air Asia in travel technology company BIGLIFE, the operator of BIG Loyalty.

Aimia also operates a loyalty solutions business, which is a well-recognized, global full-service provider of next-generation loyalty solutions for many of the world's leading brands in the retail, CPG, travel & hospitality, and financial services verticals.

For more information about Aimia, visit www.aimia.com.

SOURCE Aimia Inc.

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