CCR People

David Colville has had his term as chair of the CRTC extended by Cabinet from August 28 "until such time as a new chairman is designated." He has been acting in the role since François Bertrand left (CCR, Dec. 7/00). He has indicated that he doesn’t want the position permanently. Peter Miller has been promoted to the newly created position of VP of planning and regulatory affairs at Chum Television. He will act as the key strategic advisor on industry developments and growth opportunities for Chum Television. His responsibilities will also include all aspects of CRTC regulatory affairs and government relations. Miller joined Chum three years ago as VP of business and regulatory affairs. Serge Adda was elected as president/director general of TV5 on Oct. 23 at a meeting in Paris. He replaces Jean Stock, who left TV5 on Sept. 30. Jean-Claude Chanel was named VP of the specialty channel’s Swiss, Belgium, Canadian and Quebecois operations, while Marie-Christine Saragosse was named VP of the overall TV5 Monde. Peter Nielsen has been promoted to VP of government and industry relations at Shaw Communications Inc. He will be responsible for overseeing Shaw’s government relations at the municipal and provincial levels, and for liaising with the federal government and the CRTC on regulatory issues concerning public utilities and facilities. Nielsen joined Shaw in 1995 as director of government and industry relations. Bruce Barr, previously of Star Choice Communications and Bell Canada, has been named president of DraftWorldwide Toronto. He will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the company and directing the agency’s branding and business development plan. He will also oversee the integration of the recently merged DraftWorldwide, formerly Fuel Advertising Inc. and Draft Canada. Michael McCabe, president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, will be staying on until Dec. 31. He was originally set to leave Nov. 9. He will be staying on longer to ensure a smooth transition to new leadership. His replacement has not yet been chosen. Tom Perlmutter, a veteran of the Canadian film and television production industry and more recently an instigator of new initiatives for multimedia programming, has been named director general of the English program at the National Film Board. The appointment is effective Dec. 1. He will oversee the development and production of "socially responsible English-language films, videos and multimedia productions." He replaces Barbara Janes, who retired in August after 29 years at the NFB. Shannon O’Connor has been promoted to VP of movie and mini-series at Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. from director of creative affairs, movies and mini-series. Based at the company’s Los Angeles office, he is currently executive producer of Another Day, a movie Alliance Atlantis is producing for USA Network. Three new members of the board of directors at Vision TV have been named: Glenna Carr, CEO of Carr-Gordon Ltd.; Jonathan Goldbloom, senior associate with Montreal-based communications firm Columbia Communications Inc., and Robert Ottenhoff, who was COO of the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service from 1991 to 1999. At Vision, Alberta Nokes, former VP of communications, has been appointed director of independent production. Mark Fleischer becomes president of Mainframe U.S.A., the Los Angeles-based subsidiary of Vancouver parent company Mainframe Entertainment Inc. Clive Smith, Nelvana Ltd. co-founder and executive VP, has resigned to pursue some of his own personal projects and interests. Joelle Levie has been appointed director general of SODEC’s cinema and television production unit. Previously, she was director of Quebec operations at Telefilm Canada. Neil Haggquist becomes VP of industrial relations at the B.C. producers’ branch of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association. He steps into the position left open when Richard Longpre went to the law firm Heenan Blaikie. Previously, Haggquist negotiated collective agreements at the B.C. District Council of the Directors Guild of Canada. His assistant at DGC, Andrew Williamson, has also moved to the CFTPA. Also in B.C., Leanore Copeland was promoted to VP of external relations and operations from director of external relations. As well, Jane L. Thompson, a former editor at the National Post, becomes the new director of communications and media relations at the association. She is based in Ottawa. At Medbroadcast Corp.’s annual general meeting last month, the company appointed Gary Maavara to its board of directors. Maavara is currently senior VP at CanWest Interactive. His appointment is part of a partnership between CanWest and Medbroadcast announced in early September. Jeremy Black is the new CFO at Bingo.com Inc. Previously, he was CFO at Blue Zone Inc. George Orr and Ross Howard of CBC have won British Columbia’s Jack Webster award for best television feature for "Against the Current," it was announced Oct. 23. Other winners include Shannon Gunning, of CKNW/AM980 for best radio feature, and Endora Fan, of Fairchild Television for best reporting in the Chinese language. The awards were established in 1986 to recognize excellence in journalism in the British Columbia.

CCR People

Broadcast | October 26, 2001

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