Thomas Raffy, CEO of the Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick (CÉNB), will leave his post effective April 24 to become director of communications at Assumption Life, one of the founding members of the Francophone business group.
Marie Chamberland, the organization’s board of directors’ chair, will serve as interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found, Raffy says.
“Looking at what we’ve accomplished in the last four years, and the great work we’ve done with the team and with our board, and the membership, and given the opportunity that was offered at Assumption Life, I thought it was a very interesting time for me to make the transition,” he said.
“Assumption Life is one of the three founding organizations of Conseil économique…so it keeps me linked to the organization.”
CÉNB serves as a voice to Francophone businesses and entrepreneurs in New Brunswick, including promoting their role and value in economic development in the province and celebrating their contributions. It has approximately 800 members.
A lawyer and member of the Law Society of New Brunswick who has experience in the fields of education and communication, Raffy has served as the organization’s CEO for four years.
Raffy says he’s proud of the organization’s achievements and initiatives in the last four years. These include being part of the We Choose Growth campaign in 2018 alongside other business organizations, championing a study about the value of bilingualism for New Brunswick’s economy, and launching a series of business profiles in a Francophone paper.
“Our main message is that the Francophone economy is an important resource for economic development,” he said. “[Francophone businesses] contribute a lot to our community and to our province.”
Most recently, CÉNB also launched free webinars in both official languages to help businesses weather through the COVID-19 crisis, in partnership with Opportunities NB and others.
“We’ve seen an amazing amount of collaboration between all business organizations and all economic development agencies to really work with one another to find solutions,” he said.
Inda Intiar is a Reporter for Huddle Today, a content sharing partner of Acadia Broadcasting.
