Mr. McKenna has over 35 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. In the 1980s he worked successively as an economic/business researcher to Premier Robert Bourassa, then leader of the Opposition, later as Political Advisor to the President of the Treasury Board and finally as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Transport and Minister of Public Security. In 1992, he was appointed Official Representative and Senior Political Advisor for the Quebec Government in Washington, D.C.
In the private sector he acted as Manager of Public and Governmental Affairs and Special Assistant to Executive Vice President for the Steinberg food chain. He later worked as a partner in a Boston-based consulting firm, the Malloy Group, before returning to Quebec to invest in and manage three different manufacturing companies.
He taught International Business at the Williams School of Business at Bishop's University from 2001 to 2003 before becoming President and CEO of the Quebec Air Transport Association in September 2003, a position he held until coming taking up the position of President and CEO at ATAC in early 2009. He retired from ATAC on December 31, 2025. He continues to lecture in the aviation business program at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.
Mr. McKenna was an undergraduate at McGill University. He holds master’s degrees in Soviet and East European Economic Studies (MA) from Carleton University, in Business Administration (MBA) from Sherbrooke University and in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University.