Dear fellow RAHB members,

On behalf of your Board of Directors, I am pleased and proud to announce that we have hired a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Carol Ann Burrell will join the RAHB team as CEO on Monday, October 7. Carol Ann comes with many years of experience in association management. She has earned an Honours B.A. in English and History from the University of Toronto – University of Trinity College, a Public Relations Certificate from Humber College, and is a Certified Association Executive through the Canadian Society of Association Executives.

Below is a list of her experience:

• The Outcome Group – President – November 2003 to Present
• Real Estate Institute of Canada (REIC) – Executive Director & CEO – January to February 2018
• REIC – Associate Director (part-time contract through Outcome Group) – January to December 2017
• Ontario Association of Osteopathic Manual Practitioners – Project Manager (part-time contract through Outcome Group) – January to November 2017
• Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology – Executive Director (full-time contract through Outcome Group) – February 2004 to December 2017
• Canadian Association of Exposition Management – Executive Director – September 1991 to January 2004

Carol Ann also served for 13 years in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve, is a 3rd degree black belt in Goju-Ryu karate and holds the title of senpai.

We look forward to working with Carol Ann and learning from her leadership experience.

I would like to thank the CEO Selection Committee (names listed below) and our recruitment firm, Optimum Talent, for their diligent and thorough work in helping to find Carol Ann.

• Bob Van de Vrande, President, Apex Results Realty Inc. (Chair)
• Kathy Della-Nebbia, President-Elect, Royal LePage State Realty
• Lou Piriano, Director-at-Large (Immediate Past-President), L. Piriano Real Estate
• Ann Forbes Arndt, Member-at-Large, Royal LePage Macro Realty
• Don Robertson, Member-at-Large, Com/Choice Realty
• Conrad Zurini, Member-at-Large, RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Inc.

We owe a debt of gratitude to interim CEOs, Kim Sanders and Carolyn Infurnari, for keeping the RAHB ship on course and thriving since April. Kim, Carolyn and RAHB staff worked tirelessly to ensure RAHB members experienced no gaps in service during this time of transition, and I thank them for their professionalism and hard work.

Carol Ann should be in attendance at ProDev+ on Wednesday, October 9, and if you would like to welcome her to RAHB I recommend you purchase your tickets at https://www.rahb.ca/prodev-professional-development-plus/.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the RAHB Office at 905.529.8101 if you have questions.

Bob Van de Vrande, B.Comm., M.B.A., B.Ed.
2019 RAHB President
REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington