Judith A. Larocque has been appointed acting chair of the CRTC. The Governor in Council approved the interim appointment for a term of four months, effective June 18. Larocque previously served as acting vice-chair from Nov. 2016 to May 2017. The commission says the selection process to replace the position, vacated by Jean-Pierre Blais, is ongoing and appointments will be announced in due course.
Deepak Khandelwhal is leaving Rogers for CIBC as part of the bank’s leadership shakeup. Khandelwhal has been Chief Customer Officer since 2014 and is the latest member of the Rogers management team recruited by former CEO Guy Laurence to leave the company. Khandelwal will join CIBC in August as Group Head, Client Connectivity and Innovation. Prior to Rogers, he was VP of Global Customer Experience for Google.
Paul Brown and Michael Kuss take over JACK 96.9 (CJAX-FM) Vancouver mornings, starting June 26. The Paul and Kuss Show will air Monday through Friday, 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. PT. Brown is best known for his highly-rated run hosting mornings on The Bear (CFBR-FM) Edmonton from 2003 to 2016. TV and radio veteran Michael Kuss, most recently a meteorologist at Global BC, joins Brown. Kenny Jones, who’s been filling in on JACK mornings since last month, will hold down afternoon drive. Jones was previously morning show host at Country 101.1 (CKBY-FM) Ottawa.
CTV Montreal has cancelled local sportscasts with longtime anchor Randy Tieman, reporter Brian Wilde and weekend anchor Sean Coleman laid off. The move was announced to staff on Tuesday.
CTV Winnipeg has also cut dedicated sportscasts with longtime sports anchor/reporter Kevin Olszewski, who had been with the station since 2005, and an edit supervisor let go this week. Sports director Shawn Churchill is remaining with CTV and will file sports stories as part of regular news coverage.
José Gaudet and Richard Turcotte as well as Marie-Christine Proulx, former columnist at Hello! Hello, are joining Énergie 94.3 (CKMF-FM) Montreal as part of a new network afternoon show. Jonathan Roberge will remain on the morning show with the rest of the station’s morning team and fall schedule to be announced in the coming weeks. As Broadcast Dialogue reported last week, most of Energie’s talent lineup is moving over to iHeartRadio sister station Rouge FM 107.3 (CITE-FM), with the changes going into effect Aug. 14.
Dan Dugas has retired from 101.3 The River (CKKN-FM) and 99.3 The Drive (CKDV-FM) Prince George. Dugas started his broadcasting career in 1974 as an operator for the all night show at CKLG-73 Vancouver. He went on to announce for CKWX Super Country Vancouver (now News 1130) and was part of the news department at CJCI -FM Prince George. Dan joined The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group in Prince George in 1993 where he’s been hosting weekend evenings on 99.3 The Drive and working as a senior account manager the past 24 years. Jessica Rankin, co-host of The River Wake Up with Mike and Jessica, has chosen to shift her role with the company and is joining the sales department, taking over Dugas’ duties.
Andrew “Drew” Mauro is the new morning show host at 93.1 Moose FM (CHMT-FM) Timmins. The recent Loyalist College grad has been working as a summer cruiser/swing announcer at 98.3 Fly FM (CFLY-FM) and 98.9 The Drive (CKLC-FM) Kingston.
Blue Ant International, a division of Blue Ant Media, has appointed Alex Maldini to the position of vice-president, International Sales & Acquisitions. Maldini will oversee sales across the UK, Scandinavia, Benelux and Italy and is also tasked with growing the division’s library with more third-party content. Maldini arrives from WME-IMG/IMG Media.
