Parting is such sweet sorrow…

It is hard to believe how fast the last four years have passed and my time as CIRI President and CEO has come to an end.

I have to admit, I always harboured a secret desire to lead CIRI, so imagine my surprise and delight when Sharon Mathers (then CIRI National Board Chair) approached me in 2008 about the President and CEO role.

My first two years at CIRI were during very financially challenging times and I remember the title of our 2009 business plan was ‘Survive to Thrive’. We needed to survive the tough financial times in a way that would allow CIRI to thrive in the future.

Fortunately, I was blessed with a very talented and supportive Board of Directors and staff that have allowed us to move CIRI forward significantly.

While there have been many highlights for me from the past four years, there are two that stand out most in my mind. They are the launch of the CIRI Certified Professional in Investor Relations designation program and the introduction of advocacy efforts regarding lowering the early warning reporting threshold and equal access to SEDAR filing content.

I am thrilled to be turning over the President and CEO role to Yvette Lokker, as I greatly admire Yvette’s insights, work ethic and commitment and have certainly enjoyed working with her during my time at CIRI.

To all the CIRI Sponsors and Corporate Donation Program participants, I want to say a special thank you as you will never know how important your support has been and continues to be to this organization.

I have always been amazed at the number of CIRI members who volunteer on boards, committees, at our events, etc. You are an incredible group of people and CIRI could not function without your commitment.

My final words are to all the CIRI members. You are a truly remarkable group of professionals that I greatly admire and it has been my privilege to work on your behalf. 

And since I do not plan on totally disappearing…until we meet again.