Longtime Calgary/Alberta magazine veteran Gary Davies will be leaving his post as Executive Vice-President at RedPoint Media (publisher of Avenue, up!, Wine Access and others) to join Canada Wide Media (publisher of BCBusiness, Westworld, BCHome & Garden and more) in Vancouver as its new President.
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| Gary Davies, RedPoint Executive Vice-President |
He has worked with RPM for 16 years, from its very beginnings, in fact. So why the big change now? "I wasn't looking for a change," he says. "I received a call from an executive search company back in the fall and over the course of many months of discussion, the opportunity turned out to be one I couldn't refuse." And so Gary will officially wrap up at RPM on June 29th and start at Canada Wide on July 3rd, although he will likely only be in the RPM office until the end of May.
He expects the new gig to be similar to his current job. "Essentially, working with a senior management team to run the business; ensuring the company makes a profit on an annual basis; and working with a team to produce quality products, both print and digital, on a regular basis. All the while, hopefully having some fun in the process."
Gary also has a long history with AMPA, and I'm glad that Rob Tanner and I were able to coerce him into rejoining the board a few years ago after he had seen AMPA through some rough times in the early days. I truly enjoyed working with Gary when he was President of the board and I was the Executive Director. He always brought good ideas to the table and wasn't afraid to roll up his sleeves to get things done. At the same time, he respected my ideas and abilities to carry out AMPA's work, and let me run the show the best way I saw fit. It was a healthy partnership that benefited AMPA and its membership, and I thank him for being a great support.
When it comes to what he will miss most about RPM and Calgary, he says, "Obviously the people I work with. I've made a lot of friends here, both at RedPoint and outside of RedPoint. This is my home town and it will be tough to say goodbye. That said, we're looking to start a new adventure in Vancouver."
Congrats Gary. We wish you and your family all the best on this new exciting chapter. You will be missed!
-- Colleen Seto
