Gary brings more than 27 years of municipal experience to the role of CAO. Reporting directly to Regional Council, the CAO is the most senior position within Peel Region, overseeing all staff, service delivery and infrastructure investments to 1.5 million residents and 175,000 businesses in Peel. Gary will replace Janice Baker, who is retiring from the role at the end of April.
Gary currently holds the role of CFO and Commissioner of Corporate Services for Peel. Prior to this, he held the same position with Canada’s 7th largest City, Mississauga, where he worked for 25 years.
“On behalf of Council, I am so pleased to welcome Gary into the CAO role. Gary is focused on delivering strong customer service, value for money and ensuring Peel has the right talent and resources to serve our community,” said Chair Nando Iannicca. “These are important times for municipalities, and we are delighted and proud that Gary will lead Peel Region in achieving our vision of Community for Life. At the same time, we thank Janice for her dedication over the past two and a half years as CAO and especially for leading our team during the pandemic and our steps towards recovery.”
A graduate of Glasgow Caledonian University, Gary is a CPA, CGA and a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). He also holds the ICD.D designation, having graduated from the Directors Education Program from the Institute of Corporate Directors, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
As well as advancing multiple city building initiatives in his career, Gary previously worked in the UK as the Finance Manager for a large private sector transit company experiencing deregulation, privatization, flotation and mergers. He also served as the CEO of Enersource Corporation, a strategic partnership between Mississauga and Borealis Inc. Enersource currently owns 30% of the shares of Alectra Inc., the second largest municipally owned electricity utility in North America.
Gary’s Board and Committee experience includes the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants* (ACCA) Global Council and One Investment, a strategic partnership between AMO and MFOA.
Gary has been involved in volunteering in the community for many years and has lived with his family in Mississauga all his Canadian life.
*ACCA is not affiliated with any Chartered Accountant (CA) organization or Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) organization.
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