After just three years as the Northern Development Initiative Trust’s (NDIT) director of communications, 31-year-old Joel McKay is being promoted to head the organization.
When McKay takes over as the NDIT’s chief executive officer on October 3, he will be responsible for managing a fund with a capital base of more than $250 million.
The trust, which was set up in 2005, was established to stimulate economic growth and development in B.C.’s northern communities.
McKay, a former Business in Vancouver reporter and editor, performs a number of roles at the trust and has taken on additional responsibilities, including leading the team’s economic research, analysis and event funding programs.
“We’re a very tight knit team at northern development,” said McKay. “We only have 12 employees and even as director of communications I wore multiple hats at the trust. So I’ve been exposed to all aspects of the business to date.”
McKay is not new to the northern terrain. During his previous life as a Webster award-winning journalist, McKay was a beat reporter for Business in Vancouver covering the province’s forestry, mining, oil and gas sectors. Eventually being promoted to be the publication’s assignment editor, McKay had the opportunity to learn about the north’s industrial landscape and economic potential.
NDIT is an independent, non-profit organization that works with government and members of industry to stimulate economic development in northern B.C. communities. It has invested a total of $150 million into more than 2,000 projects since 2005. According to NDIT, that initiative has drawn more then $1.2 billion in business and government investment into the north’s regional economy.
While the north is currently suffering through economic difficulties in what is a down market for energy and natural resources, McKay said the region is seeing positive signs of economic growth. Those signs include diversification into tourism, a relatively strong forestry industry and continued mining investment.
“We have pockets in the north that are struggling, but I think our communities have wasted no time rolling up their shirt sleeves, getting to work and responding to those needs,” said McKay.
Earlier in this year, NDIT announced that its current CEO, Janine North, would be retiring. According to an NDIT press release, the decision to hire McKay as her successor follows a “rigorous three-month selection process” that fielded candidates from across the province.
McKay said the board of directors plans to stay the course, and he has no plans for any big changes just yet.
“My vision is to continue serving the communities,” said McKay. “We’re at our best as a trust when we listen to the communities needs and within our abilities find a way to respond to them.”
