OTTAWA,
ON, June 26, 2024 /CNW/ -
Edward Greenspon, President and CEO of the Public Policy
Forum, today announced plans to step down from his position at the
end of the year.
Greenspon told PPF's Board of Directors in January that after
more than eight years at the helm, the time had arrived for fresh
leadership, and that he would stay on through a search process and
transition.
"Under Ed's leadership, PPF's reach, influence and impact have
been transformed," said Ilse Treurnicht, PPF Chair. "Engagement
across the country expanded significantly, policy contributions
became both more substantive and more accessible, and the focus on
challenging issues of tomorrow made PPF more relevant to
Canada's future. And in between,
the organization reshaped its business model for continued growth
during a global pandemic. It is a remarkable legacy for which
the Board and PPF partners are thankful."
PPF will maintain an ongoing association with Greenspon as a PPF
Fellow and Senior Advisor to the CEO through the transition. He
will remain as CEO until December 31,
2024.
Greenspon joined the organization in 2016 and introduced an
'inclusion to conclusion' methodology of bringing different parties
together to design implementable policy solutions, helping to
craft a unique place for PPF in the Canadian marketplace of ideas.
"I love to learn and am grateful for the incredible education PPF
has provided into this great country my grandparents chose. I've
had the privilege of working with people from different regions and
different sectors on the challenges afoot in the world and what
they mean to us at home," he said.
"It seems to me a good time for new leadership at PPF and new
challenges for me. I don't think I would be particularly skilled at
retirement so I plan to concentrate on doing the things I'm best
at, like writing and problem-solving."
Greenspon arrived at PPF after a storied career in
journalism in western Canada and
at The Globe and Mail, where he was a business journalist,
foreign correspondent, Ottawa
bureau chief, founding editor of globeandmail.com and
Editor-in-Chief for seven years. He was already well acquainted
with his new organization, which had honoured him with its
Hyman Solomon Award for Public
Policy Journalism in 2002.
As President and CEO, Greenspon has guided PPF's output
across a range of topics, including: how the then-new independent
Senate could work; a diagnostic of the deteriorating finances of
Canadian news media and what could be done, which led to the
creation of charitable tax status for news organizations, the Local
Journalism Initiative and the Journalism Labour Tax Credit; the
development of a 'duty of care' approach rather than content
takedowns for online hate; an energy transition approach rooted in
the belief that the very urgency of climate change raises the
necessity for policies to be built on a foundation of shared
prosperity, national unity and Indigenous sovereignty; and the need
to reinvigorate Canada's
post-pandemic life sciences sector in order to provide
residents with improved health care and health security. "Among all
the many important issues, perhaps the most rewarding has been
getting the chance to work with Indigenous organizations as they
assume real sovereignty over their communities," Greenspon
said.
PPF's Board of Directors has struck a search committee and has
retained Griffith and Company to
lead the process.
"We have very big shoes to fill! However, Ed will be leaving a
strong organization poised to make its mark in the years ahead, and
we are extremely fortunate that we will continue to benefit from
his insights and expertise in PPF's policy work in the future,"
said André Beaulieu, PPF's Vice Chair. "We look forward to properly
celebrating his many contributions with the PPF community in the
fall and exploring new projects in partnership with him."
Greenspon said he's looking forward to helping a new CEO get
established and introducing them to PPF's talented team,
exceptional board of directors and hundreds of partners. "Being PPF
President is a privilege; you get to work with the best and
brightest policy minds on the toughest and most meaningful issues
with nothing but the public and national interest in mind."
SOURCE Public Policy Forum