Michael Gloodbloom named chair of CBC/Radio-Canada

Montreal’s Michael Goldbloom has been appointed chair of the board of directors for CBC/Radio-Canada.

Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly made the announcement on Parliament Hill Tuesday morning.

Goldbloom has served as principal and vice-chancellor of Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke since 2008.

Goldbloom will be bringing significant media experience to his new role as chair.

READ MORE: Catherine Tait named CBC president, 1st woman to head the broadcaster

He started his career as a journalist at the Montreal Gazette, before pursuing a career as a lawyer in private practice.

He returned to the Gazette as its publisher in 1994, after serving as president and chief executive officer of the Montreal YMCA. He remained at the Gazette until 2001 and was also publisher of the Toronto Star for two years.

Tom Clark, former chief political correspondent at Global television and chair of the Independent Advisory Committee for Appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors welcomed the news.

Other appointments include Catherine Tait who will be the first woman ever to head the CBC, Montreal’s Suzanne Guèvremont and Guillaume Aniorté will serve as directors on the board as will Vancouver’s Sandra B. Singh.

The government launched an overhaul last year of how members of the board of directors are chosen – a response to complaints that the selection process was open to political interference and did not reflect Canada’s diversity.

In a written statement, Clark said he was “very proud of the work of our independent and non-partisan committee. Our mandate — to conduct an independent selection process to find highly qualified candidates to recommend to the Minister for the CEO position — has allowed us to meet some extraordinary Canadians.”