New President/CEO of COU
It gives us great pleasure to confirm that Mr. David Lindsay has accepted the appointment as President and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities. He will officially assume the position on January 1, 2016.
Mr. Lindsay brings a wealth of public policy experience and a proven track record in the leadership of public sector organizations. He currently is President and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC). Prior to that appointment, he held Deputy Minister positions in the Government of Ontario in Energy and Infrastructure, Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, Natural Resources, and Tourism and Culture. Before this, he was President and CEO of Colleges Ontario. Mr. Lindsay was founding President of the Ontario SuperBuild Corporation responsible for infrastructure planning for the Ontario government from 1999 to 2003. He served as President and CEO of the Ontario Jobs and Investment Board from 1997 to 1999, and from 1995 to 1997 he served as Principal Secretary and Chief of Staff to the Premier of Ontario.
Mr. Lindsay is a Director of several private sector and not-for-profit boards and a Fellow of the Queen’s University School of Policy Studies. He has been a Director of the Ireland Park Foundation, the Ontario Innovation Trust, the World Wildlife Fund, the Canadian Tourism Commission, the Public Policy Forum, and the Empire Club.
A graduate of Queen’s University School of Business (Commerce ’81), he is married to Charmaine and has two adult children, Tim and Sarah.
A Presidential Search Committee, which we co-chaired and which included four other members of COU’s Executive Committee, led the comprehensive search.
Mr. Lindsay will replace Prof. Bonnie Patterson, who has served with great distinction as President and CEO for the past six years and who has graciously agreed to extend her term to December 31, 2015 to ensure a smooth transition in leadership.