Tim Reid fired as president and CEO of Regina Exhibition Association Ltd.
Embattled REAL boss oversaw a tumultuous 5-year period for the organization
Tim Reid has been dismissed without cause after more than five years as president and CEO of the Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL).
REAL made the announcement on Tuesday.
Niki Anderson, REAL's interim board chair and the City of Regina's city manager, spoke with media shortly after the news broke. Anderson confirmed the board — which has been made up of city employees since city council fired its voting members in November — met on Jan. 2 and voted unanimously to dismiss Reid.
"As we work through the evolution of REAL, and understanding that there has to be significant change, the board really believed that having a new set of eyes and new leadership would be helpful in that journey," Anderson said.
Anderson confirmed that Roberta Engel, the current vice-president of corporate services at REAL, has been appointed as acting president and CEO.
Reid declined to comment when reached on Tuesday.
Although Anderson repeatedly stated the decision to dismiss Reid was without cause, she repeatedly highlighted the concerns about REAL under Reid.
"I think that there's probably been questions about stability at least over the past year as REAL grapples with, you know, some financial issues, I would say some reputational credibility," Anderson said.
She said the decision to dismiss Reid should demonstrate that the board is making the right decisions to move the organization forward.
Tim Reid and REAL
The decision brings an end to Reid's five years as a head of an organization responsible for putting on events, bringing concerts and drawing tourism to the city.
His time there was marred by the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the business of event promotion suffer. Reid has argued that it still hasn't recovered and may never be the same.
One of the issues Reid faced at REAL is the cost of deferred maintenance on the buildings it operates, such as the Brandt Centre, the Co-operators Centre and Affinity Sportsplex. A 2019 report estimated that cost at $44 million. With inflation and further deterioration, the actual cost would likely be much higher now.
The $17 million in debt carried by the organization won Reid and REAL no favours with city councillors. The organization's board was ultimately fired by council over concerns about transparency and a lack of trust.
Even the results of the catalyst committee — an effort chaired by Reid meant to chart the future of Regina's downtown for decades to come — have fallen by the wayside.
More than a year after catalyst consultations wrapped, and 10 months after the committee's recommendation were endorsed by city council, zero of the projects have broken ground.
Only a new aquatic centre meant to replace the aging Lawson pool appears to have secured any funding.
Reid also came under personal scrutiny after a failed rebrand of the city's tourism organization drew international backlash and questions about the conflict of interest posed by CEO Tim Reid's private consulting firm.
'It does allow them to move forward': professor
Sean Tucker, a professor in the faculty of business administration at the University of Regina, said the end of Reid's leadership at REAL became inevitable.
"Tim Reid had become really a focal point for criticism of the organization in recent months," he said.
"This is part of a bigger reset in the organization.… They're forward-looking now and not looking to the past, and Tim Reid has been associated with the past."
To dismiss without cause means having to pay severance, Tucker said, but is still overall an economically safer route for REAL.
"If they had taken the risk of dismissing with cause, then they might be looking at a court settlement process, which may cost them more and prevent them from really moving forward," Tucker said.
"It does allow them to move forward and start afresh."
Reid's contract revealed
Anderson said at Tuesday's news conference that she did not know how much Reid would be paid in severance off the top of her head. She said that information is confidential and private.
CBC requested a copy of Reid's contract last year through a freedom of information request. After an initial denial and months spent appealing that decision, the contract was eventually provided late last year. According to that contract, which was signed in 2022, Reid will receive eight months severance for being dismissed without cause.
That would total approximately $168,909 in severance, based on that contract. That sum alone would have put him among the top 100 highest paid employees in the city in 2022, according to a review of compensation totals released by the City of Regina.
A rebranding exercise
Marjorie Delbaere, associate dean at the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan and a professor of marketing, said REAL's reputation has been damaged by some "initial missteps," but that the announcement is a step in the right direction.
"It is possible for a brand to regain the trust of consumers from a tourist perspective, but also the people that live in Regina," she said.
"The fact that Experience Regina changed its name back to Tourism Regina fairly quickly speaks to the fact that they're trying to regain some trust."
Lessons to be learned
Lisa Miller, executive director at Regina Sexual Assault Centre, said REAL should learn lessons from its "very tone deaf" Experience Regina campaign and not repeat those mistakes.
"That was was not well received by a lot of individuals, and particularly for folks that that have experienced sexual violence, and that frankly includes most women," she said.
Miller said many are pleased to see changes within REAL and hope the organization addresses its internal culture and works toward equity.
"REAL is a community space and it needs to reflect the diverse interests and perspectives of our community," she said.