April 21st, 2022, St. John’s, NL – With a mixture of sadness and deep gratitude the Board of Directors of the NL Employers’ Council announces the departure of its long time Executive Director, Richard Alexander, to pursue a new professional challenge as Vice President, Atlantic for Restaurants Canada. Alexander’s final day at the Employers’ Council is May 13th, 2022.
Read a reflection from Richard on finishing up on the Employers’ Council.
Alexander joined the Employers’ Council as an Employer Advisor in 2002. He was promoted to Executive Director in 2007. His strong leadership and media presence dramatically enhanced the profile of the organization and the strength of its voice. He built a strong team of staff and focused on the attraction of prominent senior business leaders to the organization’s membership. Alexander and his team established the Employers’ Council as a prominent voice for a competitive business environment in NL through many significant achievements over his dedicated tenure, including:
- Professionally speaking out on a variety of challenging but important issues to ensure balanced public opinion and competitive and responsible public policy.
- The launch of numerous campaigns, events and commentary to generate public awareness of our provincial fiscal problems, including the satirical advertising campaign NLers for Big Government in 2016, Another Way Forward in 2017, and It’s Time To Act in 2021.
- Calling attention to the fact that NL businesses paid the highest Worker’s Compensation premiums in the country, negatively impacting our economy, jobs and communities. This lobby has continued to pay dividends, saving employers more than $388 M in premiums.
- The commissioning of numerous studies and public opinion polling, such as Achieving Sustainable Prosperity by the Conference Board of Canada, which benchmarked the business and economic environment in NL against peer jurisdictions. This study provided a “reality check” for the province that some economic restructuring was (and still is) needed to maintain productivity and sustain economic prosperity for future generations.
- Developing and maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders and strengthening relationships with key government officials.
- Enhancing the financial position and sustainability of the Employers’ Council through changes to membership structure, funding arrangements, strategic and structural changes including the establishment of CEO Roundtables and the Patron Member Program.
A message from Twila Reid, Chair of the Board
We cannot thank Richard enough for the loyalty, dedication, passion, and professionalism he has shown during his time at the Employers’ Council. He has carried the business community through many challenges and successes over his 15 years of service to our community as Executive Director. He has shown tremendous strength and leadership and will be greatly missed by the staff, Board, members, and partners of our organization. We look forward to following the success of his career. We are also hopeful and excited for the next chapter of the Employers’ Council.
Richard leaves the organization in an excellent position and stronger than ever. While he will be greatly missed, expect to continue to see great things from your organization. Our loyal and capable staff, together with our committed board of directors, will ensure that the organization continues to serve the provincial business community and further our mandate throughout this transition. Jaclyn Sullivan will step in as Acting Executive Director upon Richard’s departure while the Board of Directors completes a transparent and open selection process for its next permanent Executive Director.
Members with questions or concerns about the transition can contact Richard at ralexander@nlec.nf.ca or Jaclyn at jsullivan@nlec.nf.ca. We have every confidence in staff to continue to serve your needs as always.
Stay tuned for exciting announcements of what will come next.
