Le Journal de Montréal
Mathieu Turbide
July 6, 2009

Crooner & Company CEO

Colin Hunter is unlike any other jazz singer. An old-style crooner, he spends his evenings singing Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennet classics, while during the day, he trades in his fedora for a business suit and leads the way for Sunwing Travel Group.

As a businessman who owns several planes worth tens of millions of dollars, he takes his role as singer very seriously. He’s launched three albums, some of his songs are played on jazz radio stations, and he performed on the Rio Tinto Alcan stage last Thursday night as part of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal with Joe Sealy, the renowned jazz pianist by his side. Not so bad for a sideline.

“I only perform for large venues,” he jokes. “Seriously, I perform for the pleasure of it. I’ve always performed, I’ve sung for as long as I can remember,” says Mr. Hunter, a native of India who arrived in Canada more than 35 years ago.

His wife, Joan, is the one who encouraged him to develop his passion when she suggested he sing with the Big Band during a 1995 cruise.

Co-founder of the Canadian airline Canada 3000, then president and founder of Sunwing, Mr. Hunter decided to pursue his dream a little further in 2007 by releasing his first album, Come Fly With Me, the title being a satirical take on the company he had just launched in 2005.

Knowing When to Delegate

Is he capable of balancing the busy schedule of a company president with the night time obligations of a jazz singer? “I try by keeping both worlds in balance. And I know when to delegate. My son is in charge of operations in Toronto and I have a good executive director here in Quebec,” he states.

Sunwing is a tour operator specializing in affordable travel to sun destinations. The recession, emphasizes Mr. Hunter, has been rather positive for his company. “People who were accustomed to paying more are beginning to look to us for less expensive trips. We’re expecting a better season this year than last,” he said.