Tim Reid out as REAL CEO on heels of ‘Experience Regina’ fiasco

Tim Reid is no longer in the top job at the Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. (REAL), which runs Mosaic Stadium and the Brandt Centre, among others.

In a news release sent Tuesday, the REAL board confirmed Reid is no “no longer with the organization.”

REAL’s interim board voted unanimously to remove Reid. According to the board, the change of leader is the next step in the formal review of the organization, which will focus on financial sustainability, organizational structure, operations, governance and its strategic mandate.

Interim board chair Niki Anderson said the decision was made at a meeting on Jan. 2.

“As we worked through the evolution of REAL and understanding 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.

The interim board was appointed by the city in November.

In the statement issued on Tuesday, the board said it wants “to ensure current commitments are fulfilled, operations remain on course and events are fully supported.”

Reid led the ‘Experience Regina’ tourism campaign, which was quickly dropped following public criticism, with some calling the campaign’s slogans sexist and offensive. A report into the “incident” said a lack of managerial oversight and unavailable senior staff were are large part of the sequence of events, with Reid essentially having too much on his plate.

REAL also came under criticism in November for a budget request of almost $6 million from the City of Regina, more than five times its allocation in any of the three previous years.

As well as his position at REAL, Reid also runs his own private consulting firm.

Anderson said the board has a few areas to focus on in the weeks ahead.

Niki Anderson, interim board chair of REAL, speaks to media after announcing Tim Reid’s dismissal. (Britton Gray/980 CJME)

“There are financial concerns, and I would say conversations with the city about fairness and equity. It has been brought up before that REAL does community events that don’t make money, and they are good for the community,” Anderson said.

“I would say REAL needs to sort out finances. I would say REAL needs to have an alignment with council on the identity and the purpose of what it delivers.

“I think there is probably a credibility and reputational identity that could use some improving. I would imagine, from a staff perspective, it can be a scary place to be when there is a lot of change and uncertainty in an organization so just ensuring we are making the staff who are here feel valued and, as much as possible, keeping them as informed as we can.”

Anderson said board’s dismissal of Reid was done without cause.

“It’s strategic, financial and operational. The board has been tasked with looking at all of those things for REAL, and so it is a total refresh of the future of the organization,” Anderson explained.

“The definition of letting an employee go without cause is that there is no action that they took that caused us to release him. You can have strategic operational differences. You can decide to take an organization in a different direction and not have that be an employee doing something with cause.”

Anderson said she had no other immediate changes to announce, but a report from city administration will come to council by the end of June.

“That report will have recommendations on potential future options for what REAL looks like (and) what REAL does,” Anderson said. “I would predict that there will be really important information, research and considerations there that will help guide future decisions about REAL.”

Roberta Engel, REAL’s current vice-president of corporate services, has been appointed to serve as interim president and CEO. No date has been set for when a permanent president and CEO will be in place.

“She has been with REAL for close to six years and has been really instrumental in some of the work we have done already. She has graciously stood up and accepted the interim position,” Anderson said.

Anderson said the number-one consideration ensuring all planned events run well, including the Frost Regina winter festival that starts on Jan. 26.

She said the interim board is committed to making improvements.

“I hope the message is that as the interim board, we are prepared to make the changes that we think will best offer the organization a positive path forward,” Anderson said.

“I think there have been questions about stability, at least over the past year, as REAL grapples with financial issues (and), I would say, some reputational credibility, and so I would hope this sends a message that as an interim board we are committed to doing what we feel is in the best interest of the organization to put it in a positive place.”