Alex LeBlanc. Image: Submitted
The New Brunswick Business Council has named Alex LeBlanc as its president and CEO.
The former executive director of the New Brunswick Multicultural Council succeeds Adrienne O’Pray, who served in the role for over six years. O’Pray left to join MESH/Diversity as VP of client success.
“I’m really excited to carry on the work that Adrienne O’Pray did at the Business Council. She provided tremendous leadership. She worked in the spirit of collaboration and partnership with diverse organizations around key issues,” he said.
LeBlanc has been the executive director at the Multicultural Council for the past six and a half years. Assistant director Ginette Gautreau is taking over in the interim while the Multicultural Council searches for a permanent successor.
In that role, LeBlanc worked in partnership with the Business Council. He was also in charge of files that are of strategic importance to the Business Council, including playing an instrumental role in changing attitudes and growing support for immigration in New Brunswick.
The move to the Business Council was “a natural evolution,” said LeBlanc. It allows him to dive into the immigration file, and other key economic issues, from the perspective of the business community, he said.
“One of the top priorities of the Business Council for over a decade has been immigration. I’ll be bringing my knowledge, my relationships with all levels of government, and my partnerships, to advance the immigration file from the Business Council perspective,” he said.
“On the other files, I’ve got the relationships and partnerships with chambers and industry associations that I’ve worked with over the years. It’ll be approaching the same issues but from a different standpoint.”
“My role will be to support the council and provide leadership in working with government and partner organizations, and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing at the [Multicultural] Council for the last six and a half years,” he added.
Partnering with the government to create conditions for the private sector to thrive and drive prosperity in the province coming out of the pandemic will be the overarching priority for LeBlanc in the years to come.
As part of his work, he will take on the five key areas identified in Turning Point, a virtual conference and podcast series organized at the height of the pandemic in the spring, in which both the business council and multicultural council were involved.
That includes energizing the private sector, population growth and labor market development, digital transformation, entrepreneurship and innovation, and growing exports out of New Brunswick.
In the coming weeks, LeBlanc said he’ll be busy meeting with members of the council, which includes organizations and businesses large and small, to understand their priorities, experiences and ideas for a strong recovery from the pandemic.
The council is chaired by Bryana Ganong, president and CEO of Ganong Bros. Ltd.
Inda Intiar is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
