North Bay has a new top civil servant to replace former CAO Jerry Knox, who officially retired in June.
He's Keith Robicheau, originally from New Brunswick.
"We wanted to take as long as necessary to find the right person," said Al McDonald adding it was a long process that council didn't want to rush.
All council members were present for the announcement.
Over 125 candidates applied and it took seven months to complete the search.
Robicheau assumes his responsibilities February 6, 2017.
“This is a very important leadership role within the City and we are delighted to add an individual with the breadth of experience Mr. Robicheau has to our team,” said McDonald. “Mr. Robicheau’s proven leadership skills at other municipalities, combined with his passion for serving the community, will be an asset to our city and will be key in assisting council in meeting our goals for the future.”
Robicheau told a news conference at City Hall this afternoon that he, "Sincerely appreciates the hire and appreciates the time and energy put into the process and time they put on with me."
He called council "progressive" and says he feels the community has impressive assets and is well positioned for growth.
“I am delighted to be North Bay’s new CAO and to have the opportunity to work with Mayor McDonald and the other members of a very progressive and hard-working Council-Staff team,” said Robicheau. “My wife Kathryn and I look forward to relocating our home to North Bay and living in this beautiful community and such a stunning landscape. North Bay has impressive community assets, enviable quality of life and appears well-positioned for growth in business and other key sectors of the economy and community.”
He added he's excited to become involved with the Invest North Bay development initiative and looks forward to working with that group and build more connections.
Robicheau believes good governance means a lot in a municipality.
“That doesn’t mean everyone in council always agrees with each other or every decision is by consensus but certainly to have respectful and civil proceedings and to have a very positive relationship between council and staff and a real team effort that good governance really underpins a lot of success in communities so that’s one of the things that certainly appealed to me,” said the 57-year-old.
Robicheau knows there are challenges but he says his priority will be to help build both the community and the economy of North Bay.
“Certainly economic and community development are very high on the list. I am also very conscious that we need to continue initiatives like #NorthBayProud which is to make sure employees are engaged and feel that there is good dialogue between management and staff,” he said.
Robicheau holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Mount Allison University. He became a municipal manager in 1983 at the age of 24, when he took on the role of Chief Administrative Officer for his hometown of St. Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick. Prior to his appointment as County Manager for Norfolk County, Ontario in 2011, Robicheau was a Chief Administrative Officer in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley with the Town of Kentville and the County of Annapolis over a 17 year period beginning in 1994.
During his career, Robicheau also spent four years, from 1990 to 1994, as an internal management consultant and policy advisor for the Government of New Brunswick. In 2015, Robicheau was one of five municipal leaders across Canada profiled in the book Leaders in the Shadows: The Leadership Qualities of Municipal Chief Administrative Officers, which recognized his leadership, interpersonal, collaboration and process skills.
“We are very lucky that we found someone who has skills in continuous improvement and community building,” said McDonald. “We look forward to Mr. Robicheau joining our organization and a strong senior leadership team, who together will help us enhance and grow our great city.”
McDonald believes bringing a fresh face has more positives than negatives.
“Pros are he’s looking at the whole community from a different set of eyes bringing a totally different experience from another area of the province, another part of the country but the downside is he’s got to get to know the community partners, sit down with them so they can just pick up the phone and chat so that will take a little bit of time but I think overall having somebody with a new set of eyes with the experience he has will make a tremendous difference in the city of North Bay,” said the Mayor.
The CAO selection committee included Mayor McDonald and Councillors Bain, Derek Shogren and Daryl Vaillancourt.
See: There must be change in the city say McDonald and Knox.
