New CAO has been training on the job

The City of North Bay's new chief administrative officer is current interim CAO John Severino, following a recruitment process initiated in early January.

The move received the official stamp of approval from North Bay City Council during a special meeting on Tuesday and Severino's promotion is effective immediately.

“We look forward to continuing to work with John. He brings a wealth of experience to the table and his knowledge of the community, the staff and the organization will be invaluable as we continue to focus on our priorities and move forward as a City,” said Mayor Peter Chirico.

The council held in-camera sessions at the tail end of both the April 25 regular meeting and during Tuesday's meeting to discuss a confidential report from Human Resources Director Wanda Trottier regarding "a personal matter about an identifiable individual."

“I am excited to be taking on this new role with the City of North Bay and look forward to working with staff across all departments as well as with the City’s community partners in supporting Council’s vision and implementing its goals,” said Severino.

Severino was named to the position of interim CAO in early January, replacing former CAO David Euler, who accepted an early retirement package.

See related: Council moves quickly to appoint interim CAO

Prior to the interim gig, Severino had been serving as the city engineer, overseeing the infrastructure and operations business unit. He has more than 20 years of experience in management roles and has been a member of the City of North Bay's management team for more than 13 years, having served as manager of environmental services beginning in 2010 before becoming managing director of community services in 2015 and city engineer in 2018.

Severino also held management positions in the private sector prior to his career with the City, including those at PGI Fabrene Inc. and Dupont Canada Inc.

Severino holds a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in chemical engineering from Queen’s University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Ottawa.

Severino admitted to being humbled upon his interim appointment in January and looked forward to working with Mayor Peter Chirico and council. "We've heard from council that they have certain priorities and we're going to work with council to implement those priorities. We've heard about organizational review. We've heard how important it is to be prudent. And, we'll work to continue to grow the city."