Jimenez\u2019s ouster was announced in a statement by B.C. Ferries board chair Cathy McLay.<\/p>\n
Nicolas Jimenez is out as CEO of B.C. Ferries in a sudden \u201cleadership transition\u201d initiated by the B.C. Ferries board on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Jimenez\u2019s ouster was announced in a statement by board chair Cathy McLay.<\/p>\n
Brian Anderson, the ferry company\u2019s vice president of strategy and planning, has been appointed interim CEO.<\/p>\n
Dallyn Willis, the company\u2019s executive vice-president and chief financial officer, will assume Anderson\u2019s responsibilities.<\/p>\n
McLay said Willis will also lead a review of B.C. Ferries to \u201caddress growing demands on the system and deliver safe, reliable services for customers and coastal communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
No reason for Jimenez\u2019s departure was given.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Board thanks outgoing CEO Nicolas Jimenez for his contributions to BC Ferries and wishes him success in his future endeavours,\u201d said McLay.<\/p>\n
Jimenez took on the top job at B.C. Ferries in 2023 after spending nearly two decades in senior roles at ICBC, most recently as CEO.<\/p>\n
Jimenez became ICBC\u2019s CEO in 2018, the same year that David Eby \u2014 then serving as B.C.\u2019s attorney general under John Horgan \u2014 promised major reforms at that organization.<\/p>\n
He became CEO of B.C. Ferries after Mark Collins was ousted from the position shortly after former NDP cabinet minister Joy MacPhail was appointed chair of B.C. Ferries\u2019 board.<\/p>\n
Eric McNeely, president of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers\u2019 Union, said he\u2019s \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d that Jimenez\u2019s departure could mean more change in the company\u2019s upper management and a more stable workforce.<\/p>\n
About 4,500 unionized workers at B.C. Ferries have gone about a year without a collective agreement, he said. \u201cMaybe this will bring some labour peace to a system that is challenged with decisions that have been made.\u201d<\/p>\n
McNeely said \u201cthe timeline was a bit of a surprise,\u201d but the union had anticipated Jimenez\u2019s departure for some time, and that a review of B.C. Ferries was on the horizon.<\/p>\n
Under Jimenez, the company embarked on procuring a new fleet of major vessels that will be built by a Chinese shipyard, a decision that drew criticism from provincial and national politicians.<\/p>\n
Jimenez defended the decision at the time, saying the state-run shipyard in China\u2019s Shandong province was selected after a global procurement process and his main focus was to get a good deal.<\/p>\n
The cost of the vessels has not been disclosed by B.C. Ferries over concerns that it could compromise its ability to get good deals on future procurement.<\/p>\n
B.C. Ferries has not been a Crown corporation since 2003, but receives major funding from the province. The company\u2019s sole voting shareholder is the B.C. Ferry Authority. Four of the authority\u2019s nine directors are provincial appointments, with the rest being a mix of local government and union representatives.<\/p>\n