Calgary’s economic development agency unveiled the city’s latest captain of commerce last week as the organization sought to change course by hiring a business development expert from Toronto as its new CEO.

Bruce Graham, 42, will take the helm of Calgary Economic Development starting May 20, and is expected to steer the troubled authority – which has suffered the resignations of five presidents within nine years – into calmer waters.

“Whatever has happened in the past, is the past,” Graham said, as he was officially introduced to the city by Calgary Mayor David Bronconnier. “I will look at building relationships and focus on opportunities that I see coming forward.”

Graham was headhunted from of a list of 200 applicants for the job. Most recently he led a staff of 23 with the Toronto Economic Development Division, which was responsible for attracting and retaining businesses such as Telus Mobility, Transamerica Life and Ipsco Steel Corp.

Shannon Oatway, Business Edge
Bruce Graham is the new president of CED.

Bronconnier said that Graham’s hiring is one of the first steps in answering concerns voiced by the business community about the city’s economic development strategy – which had been heavily criticized under the banner of the CED’s immediate predecessor, Promoting Calgary Inc. Former PCI president Georgine Ulmer stepped down last summer after a three-year term capped by a critical report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, which questioned the leadership, mandate and performance of her office.

“I think it’s very humbling for Calgary to get someone with (Graham’s) expertise, knowledge and background to come forward,” Bronconnier said. “I have every hope that Bruce will live up to our expectations and deliver on what the business community is looking for, which is a collaborative partnership which continues to leverage the assets of the Calgary community. We have a foundation here that is second to none, and it is time to leverage that up even further. And we will do that.”

Graham has a wife, Kathy, and two daughters ages six and eight. He said he chose Calgary in part because he believes it’s a “great place to raise a family and establish a foothold.”

“And it’s a great career opportunity to move into a role that encompasses all elements of economic development and to build what I think could be a great team for a great city that I think has a great future.”

He added he plans to meet with several business leaders later in May to discuss potential new strategies, particularly around the city’s cluster initiative. “I really do want to get engaged, and find out how things work here,” he told Business Edge in a later interview.

“You don’t have the money and resources to market everywhere. You’ve got to pick your targets, and doing that based on a cluster or business sector approach, I think, is the only way to do it.”

Calgary Economic Development chairman Daryl Fridhandler said Graham’s experience in helping build Toronto’s industry development initiative will help Calgary develop a critical mass in its own industry clusters as well as building partnerships in the business community.

“Everything is open for discussion,” Fridhandler said, including a new business development and marketing strategy for the agency. “Bruce is coming in with some fresh views, so we’re going to give him some time to study the landscape and understand what’s going on.”

Promoting Calgary Inc., Fridhandler added with a slight grimace, “is behind us.”

CED is administered by a city council-appointed board of directors representing the business community, receiving its core funding from the city.