Canadian Western Agribition is looking for a new chief executive officer after Jason Pollock announced last week he was stepping down to take over the family ranch at Maple Creek, Sask.
“It was a tough decision and I will miss it,” he said.
His departure is effective March 31.
He said his career plans always included a return to the ranch.
Pollock, who has a master’s degree in business administration, worked for SaskPower before joining Agribition in 2007.
He said he expected to work about 10 years in business and it’s now been 12.
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He and his wife have three children younger than 12 and the timing is good for them, too, he added.
Taking over from his parents will be challenging, even though they have been talking about it for years and he has been involved in the ranch to a certain degree.
The ranch, a commercial cow-calf and yearling operation based on Horned Herefords, is a one-person operation right now.
“It’s going to take a couple of years to grow the place to the point where it can maintain two families,” he said.
Pollock also plans to hang out his shingle as a consultant and hopes to take on work that fits around peak times on the ranch.
He may also return to rodeo. He was a Canadian Cowboys’ Association finals winner in steer wrestling twice and has since turned his attention to professional rodeo.
Meanwhile, he leaves Agribition with new planning and governance processes in place.
One of those initiatives was to revamp the volunteer structure.
“We’ve got a very passionate and dedicated group of volunteers, but in many ways we don’t manage them very well,” Pollock said.
