RTI - Veniez

News Release
No. H 234/07
For release - December 7, 2007

APPOINTMENT TO RIDLEY TERMINALS INC.
OTTAWA — The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced the appointment of Mr. Daniel Veniez as chairperson of the Ridley Terminals Inc. (RTI) board of directors.

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Veniez to lead RTI,” said Minister Cannon. “His public policy and business insight will be invaluable to the company.”

Based in Vancouver, Mr. Veniez is chairman of DDV Enterprises Ltd., an investment company. He is an operating advisor to Pegasus Capital Advisors, a private equity group that manages over $1.8 billion (U.S.) in assets through several funds. Mr. Veniez studied history and economics at McGill University, and business at Queen’s University. He served as a senior policy advisor to cabinet ministers in various economic and social policy portfolios within the Government of Canada. Since returning to the private sector in 1992, he has held senior management positions in areas ranging from corporate affairs and human resources to strategy and property development.

RTI is located on Ridley Island in Prince Rupert, British Columbia (B.C.), at the end of CN’s northern rail line. RTI is a federal Crown Corporation that owns and operates a bulk handling terminal for the efficient and reliable movement of coal and other bulk commodities from trains on to ships, on land leased from the Prince Rupert Port Authority. The terminal was built in the early 1980’s to support the development of the coal industry in Northeastern B.C.

  • 30 -

Contact:

Karine White
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport,
Infrastructure and Communities, Ottawa
613-991-0700

I don’t get it. It seems more like getting a plum for screwing us over.

Interesting that they didn’t get a positive comment from a Tsimshian spokesperson…just an observation…


Gitxsan First Nation welcomes appointment of Dan Veniez to run port terminal
2 days ago

HAZELTON, B.C. - The Gitxsan First Nation is welcoming the appointment of former forestry executive Dan Veniez to head Ridley Terminals Inc. in Prince Rupert.

Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon announced Friday the one-time saviour of Prince Rupert’s Skeena Cellulose pulp and lumber operation would become the federal Crown corporation’s chairman.

Cannon says Veniez’s public policy and business insight will invaluable to the company, which operates a bulk cargo facility on Ridley Island in the port of Prince Rupert.

Veniez now runs a Vancouver-based investment company and helps manage several funds.

Veniez and partner George Petty tried unsuccessfully to resurrect Skeena, which went into receivership in the 1990s after amassing mountains of debt.

Gitxsan spokesman Elmer Derrick says Veniez’s one-time ownership of Skeena gives him a deep understanding of the northwest.

Veniez and Petty bought mothballed Skeena from the B.C. government for $8 million but could not raised the money needed to revamp the money-losing pulp mill and related lumber mills and its assets were finally sold off by a receiver.