CCR People

John Cassaday, president and CEO of Corus Entertainment Inc., has been nominated for election to serve on SYSCO’s board of directors. He will stand for election at the company’s annual meeting on November 12. Pat Ferns has created his own company, Ferns Productions Inc. He plans to engage in international and Canadian financing of projects from his base in Victoria BC. In addition, he will deal with “people and program packages” and present media events. Ferns Productions has signed a deal with Towers Productions Inc. of Chicago, and is in the final stages of negotiating an association with Novalis Entertainment of Vancouver. He will also maintain his signature pitching sessions at media festivals around the world, including at the Banff Television Festival. Barry Chambers has been named as president of Rainmaker Entertainment Group Ltd. He has been with the company for 24 years, 15 of which he was general manager responsible for overseeing all operations. Susan Stafford has left Teletoon, where she was a publicist, to join Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. as a publicist for HGTV, BBC Canada and BBC Kids. Richard Camilleri, formerly COO of operations at CanWest Global Communications, has been appointed president of newly created CanWest MediaWorks. CanWest MediaWorks includes all the Canadian business units, including newspapers, TV and radio operations, web-based interactive operations and the music, book publishing and merchandising units owned by CanWest Global Communications Inc. Thomas Strike, formerly COO of operations, has been named president of CanWest MediaWorks International, the new division that includes CanWest’s investments in Network TEN in Australia, CanWest MediaWorks (NZ) Ltd. in New Zealand and TV3 in Ireland. Other senior executive appointments at CanWest MediaWorks include Kathleen Dore being appointed president of television and radio and Michael Williams becoming president of publications. These two appointments fill positions that have been vacant since early 2003. As well, Joseph Mangione has been named as president of sales and marketing. In anticipation of planned retirements and to fill existing vacancies, other appointments were announced, such as Peter Ashkin being named as senior VP of digital content. He comes to CanWest MediaNetworks from America Online Inc., where he was executive VP of digital media services. As well, another America Online recruit Arturo Duran has been appointed as senior VP of interactive. Also, Grace Palombo was appointed to the position of senior VP of human resources. Getting the axe are Jack Tomik, president of CanWest Media Sales, Loren Mawhinney, VP of Canadian production, and Doug Hoover, senior VP of programming and promotions. Carol Ring, VP and general manager at Rogers Ottawa, has left the nation’s capital to take on a similar role for Rogers in Toronto. Robert Watson has been hired as CEO of SaskTel, effective December 1. He replaces Don Ching, who is retiring. Watson is currently VP of business development at 360 Networks/GT Group Telecom. He has also served as president of Shaw Fibrelink and Shaw Mobilecomm, former divisions of Shaw Communications Inc. Meribeth Burton has left CH Television in Victoria BC, where she worked for 10 years, to join CHUM Ltd.’s The New VI as senior reporter/anchor. She begins on-air at The New VI on October 12. Tim Baumgartner has been appointed as channel manager at Radio Beacon Inc., and Edward Evans as senior sales engineer. Baumgartner joins Radio Beacon’s Chicago office. Evans will be joining the California office and will support partners in western United States and western Canada. René Bourdages has been named as the new president of the merchandising division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp./Radio-Canada. He has worked at Groupe TVA Inc. as executive VP of broadcasting and operations, at Astral Media as executive VP of sales, products and marketing for Super Ecran and Canal Indigo, and at Cogeco Radio-Television as director of development. Brian Robertson is stepping down as president of the Canadian Recording Industry Association in mid-November. He has been in the position since 1974. He is one of the founders of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). He will remain with CRIA in a consulting capacity into 2005 as chair emeritus. Graham Henderson will take over as president. He is currently senior VP of business affairs and e-commerce at Universal Music Canada Inc., and was previously a music industry lawyer in private practice. Former TV host and producer Adrienne Clarkson has had her term as governor general extended until September 2005. In MemoryJohn Cerutti, colour man for Rogers Sportsnet’s Toronto Blue Jays, died suddenly at the age of 44. The former Jays pitcher has been the lead analyst on Jays games for the last three seasons. He didn’t make it to an early morning production meeting prior to the Jays’ final game against the New York Yankees. Emergency personnel found him dead in his hotel room. It is believed that he died of natural causes.

CCR People

Broadcast | October 8, 2004

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