Business / Arts Board of Directors announces departure of Nichole Anderson Bergeron, President & CEO

March 10, 2020 – Toronto – Nichole Anderson Bergeron, our President and CEO has expressed her desire to step down after nearly 15 years of outstanding leadership at Business / Arts.  She informed the board of this decision based upon her satisfaction of fulfilling her personal objectives for our organization and a wish to move forward on a personal basis, shifting her focus to more board work on a cross-Canada, multi-disciplinary basis in both non-profit and for-profit spaces.

Nichole has graciously agreed to be flexible as to her departure date. This gives us ample time to select her replacement, which we hope to conclude by the end of June of this year for a smooth transition at our AGM.

Robert Foster, Chairman, said: “I want to thank Nichole for her many years of leadership at Business / Arts. It has been a pleasure to work with her I am sure our paths will cross in future board work. Thanks to Nichole’s entrepreneurialism, we have a strong foundation to build on and will continue to leverage our convening power in bringing the arts, business and government sectors together to ensure we have a thriving creative economy in Canada. ”

Under Nichole’s tenure, Business / Arts has grown exponentially in size and strength, from a $300,000 operating organization based in Toronto to a $3M operating organization with national reach, leveraging the investment of private and public sector partners to establish a national matching grant and training program for the arts, called artsvest. The initiative has so far generated over $21M in new private sector investment for the arts and over 4000 new partnerships between business and the arts.

A natural convener, Nichole has ensured that Business / Arts leverage its power and influence as a convening body for leaders in the arts, government and business sectors to collaborate on initiatives that are of shared importance, while also taking the lead on key initiatives for the sector such as the Canadian Arts Summit, the Canadian Arts & Business Awards, and Culture Track Canada. www.businessandarts.org. She has established strong relationships with arts, business and government leaders in provinces across the country, and a strong foundation on which to build.

Jim Fleck, the former Chairman, said: “One of the pleasures of my time as Chair was to watch Nichole mature as a seasoned CEO. She has been integral to the development of Business / Arts, building a robust suite of impactful programs for the organization and establishing strong relationships within the arts, both private and public. She has demonstrated not only the skills to run an organization but the strategic skills to be an excellent board director in the profit or non-profit world. An interest I hope she pursues.” 

Nichole Anderson Bergeron, said: “I am immensely grateful for my time at Business / Arts and want to thank the Board of Directors who have been tremendously supportive over the years, our partners in the government and private sector, and the ever-creative and robust arts community. I also want to recognize our talented team for their leadership and hard work in growing our presence and impact in Canada.  I am going to miss working with this extended family very much and will continue to be there to support the organization as we transition to new leadership. I am excited about what lies ahead for Business / Arts!”   

B/A has engaged Searchlight Partners Group to lead a Canada-wide search for a new CEO, with the posting available here: https://www.businessandarts.org/careers/president-ceo/