Revolving Door

Dina Pugliese has announced she’s stepping down as co-host of Citytv’s Breakfast Television after 16 years with the show. The veteran Toronto television personality made the announcement Wednesday morning, citing burnout and the toll the early morning live show has had on her health over the years. Pugliese says she plans on spending more quality time with her family, travelling with her husband, and devoting more of her schedule to her clean beauty line, The Care Principle, which she launched three years ago. Pugliese’s last day on the show will be Friday, Feb. 24. Read more here.

Tammie Sutherland is officially the new full-time news anchor on Citytv’s Breakfast Television. Sutherland has been filling in since Melanie Ng’s departure in October of last year to spend more time with her family. Sutherland has been with Citytv since 2008.

Jed Kahane, the former long-serving CTV Montreal news director, has a new position as Manager of Media Relations for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Bell Media cut his position last summer concluding a 33-year journalism career that included time reporting for both CBC News and CTV National News in Calgary and Montreal.

Jill Krop, who stepped down from her role as BC Regional Director of Global News in September 2020, capping a 35-year journalism career, has been named Executive Director of the B.C. Lacrosse Association. Krop, whose 14-year-old son is a player and has volunteered with BCLA, succeeds Jeff Gombar in the role.

Griffin Jaeger has been hired as the first-ever dedicated Social Media Reporter for CBC flagship newscast, The National. A 2022 graduate of Western University’s Master of Media in Journalism and Communication program, Jaeger has been working with the public broadcaster since last year as an associate producer and web writer.

Leila Wright has been appointed Executive Director, Telecommunications, at the CRTC. Wright began her career practicing competition law and commercial litigation. She joined the Competition Bureau in 2013, where she has held a number of increasingly senior executive roles, most recently Deputy Commissioner for Digital Enforcement and Intelligence. Prior to that, she was the Associate Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Planning and Advocacy, where she led major initiatives aimed at promoting competition.

Doug Burnett, SaskTel President and CEO, will retire in June after 30 years with the company. Burnett joined SaskTel in 1990 as Corporate Counsel and after seven years became General Manager, Human Resources and later VP, Human Resources and Corporate Services. He served as Acting President for several years, before being appointed President and CEO in 2019. The executive search for a new President will be led by the SaskTel Board of Directors and begin shortly.

John Manley has been named Chair of the Board of TELUS, effective following his re-election at TELUS’ annual general meeting in early May. The former Deputy Prime Minister and Senior Business Advisor with Bennett Jones LLP, will succeed Dick Auchinleck who is retiring after 20 years of service on the TELUS Board, including eight as Chair. Manley was previously the president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada from 2010 to 2018, and formerly chaired the boards of CIBC and aviation and aerospace company, CAE. 

Ana Serrano and Victoria Wing Chi Chan have been named to the National Film Board (NFB) by Canadian Heritage. Both will serve three-year terms, the latter on a part-time basis. Serrano is the President and Vice Chancellor of OCAD University and a managing director of the Canadian Film Centre’s IDEABOOST digital accelerator.

Terry DiMonte is continuing his recovery at home after post-op complications following a heart valve operation at Vancouver General Hospital in January. The former CHOM Montreal and Q107 (CFGQ-FM) Calgary morning man, who retired to the West Coast in 2021, spent 25 days on a ventilator in the ICU. DiMonte, 65, has most recently been co-hosting Standing By: The Terry & Ted Podcast with Ted Bird, and co-hosting Saturday Mornings with Terry & Ted on Lite 106.7 (CHSV-FM) St. Lazare.