For the second time in six months, the City of Penticton has lost a key employee.
City manager Annette Antoniak announced Tuesday she will be leaving her position with the city to pursue a new opportunity. Last October, Anthony Haddad, the city’s director of planning, announced he was leaving to take up a position with UBC Okanagan.
“I don’t take this lightly, but I have this incredible opportunity to run an organization as the CEO, and I am really excited about that too,” said Antoniak, who couldn’t say what the new job will be.
“They want to roll it out and I have to honour that,” said Antoniak, though she did confirm the new position wasn’t in the public sector at federal or provincial levels.
“I’ve learnt my lesson,” said Antoniak, who was hired by the City of Penticton in August 2010, after a short stint as economic development officer for Area D of the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen. Prior to that, she was president and CEO of the B.C. Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Secretariat.
Mayor Andrew Jakubeit admits Antoniak’s announcement came as a shock to the system.
“It certainly was a surprise for all of council and is going to take away some of our momentum, but I think we can look back and be proud of what we have achieved together and what Annette has brought to our community,” said Jakubeit. “We have really turned the corner here at the city in terms of our corporate culture.”
Though Jakubeit was just elected mayor last November, along with four new councillors, Antoniak expects them to continue progressing.
“I believe this new council are going to do some terrific things and they have a good vision and strategy moving forward,” said Antoniak.
Jakubeit said Antoniak was instrumental to the realization of Penticton’s vision, propelling the organization to new heights with her innovative and entrepreneurial approach.
At the beginning of her tenure, Antoniak was tasked with a major shift in organization for the city, implementing the core review.
According to the city’s press release, her key achievements include bringing stakeholders together for dialogue that ultimately articulated the community’s vision, assisting council with defining strategic priorities flowing from this vision and moving forward with the first downtown revitalization and waterfront enhancement projects to be successfully undertaken in the city for over 30 years.
“The organization has evolved greatly in the five years that I have been here, and I think that is a testament to the positive, service-oriented attitude reflected in the organization,” said Antoniak in the release. “I am incredibly proud of the City of Penticton team, and how dedicated they are to serving our customers and bettering our community. I will miss many things about Penticton, but I will miss the incredible staff the most.”
Antoniak’s final day with the city is Feb. 16. Chuck Loewen, the city’s general manager facilities, museum and recreation services, will take on the acting city manager position until a replacement for Antoniak can be found.
Jakubeit said council will be taking its time to find a replacement, and will be conducting an extensive search, possibly hiring a headhunting firm to recruit a candidate list.
A replacement for Haddad has not yet been confirmed, but Antoniak expects that to be complete before she leaves.