In a few weeks, newspapers across the country will carry advertisements looking for a new president and chief executive officer for the Canadian Wheat Board.
Given the events of the past few months, it might be fitting if the ads read something like this.
Wanted: Highly qualified professional executive to take over as head of an organization at the centre of a relentless, seemingly endless and often nasty political storm. Will report to a board of directors sharply divided over the future of the organization. Must deal with pointed criticism from political masters. Thick skin a definite asset. May be required to preside over demise of the organization. Salary significantly below similar jobs in the private sector.
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The top job has been a hot seat of late, culminating in the government’s firing of Adrian Measner in December 2006 for his public support of single desk marketing.
Measner was replaced on an interim basis by former CEO Greg Arason.
Now a search committee has begun the process of hiring a permanent replacement. The committee is made up of five members of the CWB’s board of directors and two representatives from the federal government.
Committee chair Ken Ritter, also chair of the CWB, said the goal is to have a new CEO in place this autumn.
“We’re looking for the best candidate possible and this is going to be a wide-open search,” he said, adding a Calgary-based executive search firm has been hired to find suitable candidates, although anyone is free to apply.
Given the tensions between the CWB and federal government over the board’s future, it’s hard to imagine the two sides agreeing on a candidate. But Ritter said the first few meetings of the committee have been positive.
“To date the group has worked together professionally, constructively and effectively,” he said.
“This may work very well. It has so far.”
The job description will include references to the fact that the CWB may be facing “changing circumstances” during the new CEO’s tenure, something Ritter said any serious candidate would undoubtedly know already.
“If they’re not aware of that, they’ve been living on Mars,” he said with a laugh.
The CWB Act sets out a number of conditions to hire a new president and CEO.
The candidate is actually appointed by federal cabinet order on the recommendation of the minister responsible for the CWB.
The minister can only recommend a person if he has first consulted with the board with respect to the identity of the person to be recommended, his or her qualifications and if the board has fixed the remuneration to be paid to the president and informed the minister of that figure. Measner was paid $286,000 a year.
In effect, that gives the board a veto over the appointment process, since it could set unacceptably low compensation for a candidate it didn’t like.
“The act creates a situation where there has to be mandatory co-operation,” said Ritter, adding he has no reason to believe the government will not abide by the act and work with the board.
“We’re approaching this in a co-operative and constructive manner and we hope and expect to get the best candidate put forward,” he said.
The members of the search committee are CWB directors Ritter, Larry Hill, Henry Vos, Allen Oberg and William Cheuk, and government representatives Susan Norquay from the office of CWB minister Chuck Strahl and Paul Martin from Agriculture Canada.
