Premier Furey Announces Senior Appointments

  • Executive Council

April 28, 2021

The Honourable Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, announced a number of senior appointments today.

These include:

  • Sean Dutton is appointed as Deputy Minister with the Department of Digital Government and Service Newfoundland and Labrador and acting Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change;
  • Patricia Hearn is appointed as Deputy Minister with the Department of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills in addition to her duties as Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs;
  • John Cowan is appointed as Deputy Minister with the Department of Industry, Energy and Technology;
  • Michelle Jewer is appointed as Secretary to the Treasury Board, Office of the Executive Council, on an acting basis;
  • Ted Lomond is appointed as Deputy Minister with the Department of Municipal and Provincial Affairs;
  • David Heffernan is appointed as Associate Deputy Minister, Digital Government, with the Department of Digital Government and Service Newfoundland and Labrador in addition to his duties as Chief Information Officer, Office of the Executive Council;
  • Fiona Langor is appointed as Assistant Deputy Minister, Business and Innovation with the Department of Industry, Energy and Technology;
  • Carmela Murphy is appointed as Special Advisor, Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation;
  • Judith Hearn is appointed Assistant Deputy Minister, Tourism and Recreation with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation;
  • Philip Osborne is appointed as Assistant Deputy Minister, Legal Services with the Department of Justice and Public Safety, on an acting basis;
  • Katie Norman is appointed as Assistant Deputy Minister, Immigration and Population Growth with the Department of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills;
  • Chantelle MacDonald Newhook is appointed as Assistant Deputy Minister, Enforcement and Resource Services with the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture;
  • David Drover is appointed as Comptroller General of Finance with the Treasury Board Secretariat, Office of the Executive Council, on an acting basis; and
  • Pierre Tobin is appointed as Assistant Deputy Minister, Energy, with the Department of Industry, Energy and Technology.

All appointments with the exception of Mr. Tobin are effective immediately. Mr. Tobin’s appointment is effective May 3, 2021.

Bios for all the appointees named today can be found in the backgrounder below.

Quote
“I welcome these dedicated public service employees to their new roles. I look forward to working with them as we continue toward the same goal of making Newfoundland and Labrador the best possible place to live, work and raise a family. There are exciting times ahead.”
Honourable Andrew Furey
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador

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Media contact
Meghan McCabe
Office of the Premier
709-729-3960
meghanmccabe@gov.nl.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Biographies

Sean Dutton
Sean Dutton started his career with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1994 and became a Deputy Minister in 2004. He has served as Deputy Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs, Intergovernmental Affairs, Service NL, Procurement, Transportation and Works, and Environment, Climate Change and Municipalities, as well as Chief Executive Officer of Fire and Emergency Services and Chief Procurement Officer. Mr. Dutton is a graduate of Acadia University, holding Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Master of Arts degrees, both in political science.

Patricia Hearn
Patricia Hearn was appointed Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat in September 2016.  In this role, she oversaw the interests of the province at bilateral, multilateral, regional and intergovernmental fora. The Secretariat is also responsible for the province’s trade policy agenda including representation at internal and international trade negotiations.

Prior to this role, Ms. Hearn had over 20 years experience as an executive with the Government of Canada in areas of economic and social policy and programs. Most recently she served as the Atlantic Executive Director of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (formerly Industry Canada) where she oversaw the operations of the Federal Government’s economic program and policy agenda in the four Atlantic provinces.

Through several senior management roles in areas of innovation, trade and economic development, Ms. Hearn has developed strong networks at the federal and provincial levels, which she brings to this role. In addition to her Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Education degrees, Ms. Hearn also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Memorial University.

John Cowan
John Cowan began his career with the Provincial Government in 2000 and most recently served as the Assistant Secretary to Cabinet for Economic Policy with Cabinet Secretariat. Prior to that Mr. Cowan was the Assistant Deputy Minister of Energy with the Department of Natural Resources.

Mr. Cowan has held various positions within the Provincial Government including the Executive Director of Planning and Coordination with Cabinet Secretariat, Director of Electricity and Alternative Energy and Director of Energy Policy with the Department of Natural Resources,  Director of Resource and Fiscal Policy with Intergovernmental Affairs, as well as other positions within the public service with the Office of Executive Council, the former Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, the House of Assembly, the Department of Health and Community Services, Department of Finance, and the former Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment.

Mr. Cowan holds a Master of Business Administration, Master of Employment Relations, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, and Bachelor of Education degrees from Memorial University.

Michelle Jewer
Michelle Jewer joined the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2000 at the Office of the Auditor General. Since that time, she has held several financial leadership positions in across various departments including the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Community Services and the Department of Finance. Ms. Jewer’s most recent role is the Comptroller General with the Treasury Board Secretariat. Ms. Jewer has been the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador non-bargaining representative on the Provident 10 Board of Directors since 2018.  She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Co-operative) from Memorial University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Ted Lomond
Ted Lomond most recently served as Deputy Minister of the Department of Industry, Energy and Technology (Natural Resources) since February 2019. Prior to this, he was Deputy Minister for the Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation. He has extensive experience in economic and business development having held senior management positions with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association (NEIA), the Newfoundland and Labrador Regional Economic Development Association (NLREDA), and the Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development at Memorial University.

Mr. Lomond has served on the Atlantic Advisory Committee, Natural Science and Engineering Research Council, as a lecturer in the Faculty of Business Administration at Memorial University and as a consultant to the private sector. He currently serves on the Innovation and Business Investment Corporation board and as a member of the Oil and Gas Industry Development Council.

Mr. Lomond’s academic credentials include Master of Business Administration, Master of Philosophy in Humanities, Graduate Diploma in Arts (Interdisciplinary), Master Certificate in Project Management, Diploma in Applied Ethics (Environmental) and Diploma in Credit Management, Bachelor of General Studies in Arts and Sciences, executive management programs and several professional certifications. He is a Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies, Memorial University.

David Heffernan
David Heffernan’s most recent role is Chief Information Officer with the Office of the Chief Information Officer, Executive Council. Prior to joining the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Heffernan served as the Chief Information Officer for the Government of the Northwest Territories, where he led the development and implementation of a government-wide IT strategy to improve services to residents and businesses. He also led a review to renew the government’s IT function, which established a Shared Service delivery model for information systems, and the transformation of the overall IT operating model.

Mr. Heffernan was responsible for collaborating with industry and non-government organizations to develop telecom policy positions, and represented those positions at public hearings to the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).  Before entering public service, he worked as a Senior Technology Consultant and Project Manager for Automatic Data Processing based out of Alpharetta, Georgia, U.S.A, serving a client base of more than 450,000 worldwide.

Mr. Heffernan has also served on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Citizen-Centered Services (ICCS) from 2012-2015, where he helped lead the organization through a period of uncertainty and assisted with the development of a strategic plan to guide the organization forward, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Newfoundland & Labrador Centre for Health Information.  Mr. Heffernan holds a Diploma in Management Information Systems from the College of the North Atlantic and Certificates in Intergovernmental Negotiations and Executive Leadership.

Fiona Langor
Fiona Langor has been employed with the Newfoundland and Labrador public service for nearly 27 years. Ms. Langor has held several senior leadership positions during her public service career, most recently as Deputy Minister of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills (formally Immigration, Skills and Labour). Ms. Langor also served as Deputy Minister and as Assistant Deputy Minister of Workforce Development, Labour and Immigration with the Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, Assistant Deputy Minister of Strategic and Corporate Services and as Director of Policy and Strategic Planning with the Department of Justice and Public Safety, and has held positions with Executive Council, the former Department of Business and the former Department of Industry, Trade and Technology. Prior to her employment with the Provincial Government, Ms. Langor spent four years with the Faculty of Business at Memorial University.

Ms. Langor has represented Newfoundland and Labrador on the Board of Directors of the Labour Market Information Council (LMIC).  Along with the role as past provincial co-chair of the Forum of Labour Market Ministers (FLMM), Fiona is also past President of the Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour Legislation (CAALL) and past Chair of the Atlantic Workforce Partnership (AWP).

Carmela Murphy
Carmela Murphy began her career with the provincial Government in November 1986 with the Department of Development and Tourism as an Industry Development officer. Over the next decade she held various progressive positions in policy, community economic development and Federal Provincial cost shared programs. Ms. Murphy was appointed Director of Tourism Marketing in 1998. She was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of Tourism in April 2013 and ADM responsible for both tourism and culture in October 2014.

In 2017 the Parks Division was added to her responsibilities as well as Chair and CEO of the Marble Mountain Development Corporation (MMDC) and she was a member of the Rooms Board of Directors. Over the past 34 years she has gained significant insight into the tourism and cultural industries and has a passion for tourism that has made her eager to talk, share, and listen about the potential of Newfoundland and Labrador as a tourism destination.

Judith Hearn
Judith Hearn most recently served as Assistant Deputy Minister, Business and Innovation, in the Department of Industry, Energy and Technology. Since joining the Provincial Government in 2008, Ms. Hearn has  served in senior executive positions with a variety of  Departments including Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation; Seniors, Wellness and Social Development; Tourism, Culture and Recreation; Innovation, Business and Rural Development; the Office of Public Engagement, and the Communications and Public Engagement Branch of Executive Council.

Prior to joining the Provincial Government, Ms. Hearn spent eight years in the private sector engaged with the development and growth of export-oriented technology companies.  Ms. Hearn holds a Bachelor of Education from Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and a Bachelor of Arts (History) from Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario.

Philip Osborne
Philip Osborne joined the Department of Justice and Public Safety (Civil Division) in 2007 as a member of the Litigation Unit. He has appeared before all levels of court in the Province as well as the Federal Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada. Mr. Osborne served as manager of the Litigation Unit from 2013-2019 and as director of the Civil Division since 2019.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick. He was called to the bar in 2002. Mr. Osborne currently serves on the Rules of Court Committee and is a member of the Rotary Club of St. John’s Northwest.

Katie Norman
Katie Norman first joined the Newfoundland and Labrador public service in 2007. Since that time, she has held a variety of diverse roles, including most recently, Assistant Deputy Minister, Enforcement and Resource Services with the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture. Prior to this appointment, Katie served as Assistant Deputy Minister of Public Engagement, and Executive Director of Planning and Coordination (A). Ms. Norman has also held a variety of management and policy positions in the provincial public service, including Cabinet Officer, Director of Workforce Development, Director of Skills and Labour Market Research, and Director of Social and Economic Policy (Intergovernmental Affairs).

Ms. Norman also spent time working in the Department of International and Intergovernmental Relations with the Government of Alberta, and was recognized with a Newfoundland and Labrador Public Service Award of Excellence in 2015 for her work in the area of population growth. Ms. Norman holds a Master of Public Administration from Queen’s University, and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in political science from Memorial University.

She is currently Vice-President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada.

Chantelle MacDonald Newhook, QC
In 2004, Ms. MacDonald Newhook entered the public service with the Department of Justice’s litigation team. Since that time she has worked in a variety of capacities, including as legal counsel to the Public Service Secretariat, Executive Council, Department of Health and Community Services, Manager of the Central Agencies and Justice Policy Unit, and Assistant Deputy Minister for the Human Resource Secretariat. Her most recent role was the Assistant Deputy Minister, Legal Services, at the Department of Justice and Public Safety, Civil Division.

Ms. MacDonald Newhook has appeared before the Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Relations Board, before the provincial court, Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and at the Supreme Court of Canada. She is a published author with one book to her credit and has also published in regional, national and international consumer and trade publications, primarily about legal issues. She is an active community volunteer, including as a proud member of the Rotary Club of St. John’s East.

David Drover
David Drover joined the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2000 with the Department of Finance. Since that time, he has served in a number of financial management positions including Manager of Public Accounts and Banking Services and Director of Financial Systems Control. Most recently he served as the Director of Government Accounting, a position he started in 2012. Mr. Drover holds a Bachelor of Commerce (co-op) from Memorial University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Pierre Tobin
Pierre Tobin spent much of his career as a public service employee with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and held several executive positions including Assistant Deputy Minister of Industrial Benefits, Assistant Secretary to Cabinet for Economic Policy and Associate Deputy Minister of Energy. During his career in the public service, Mr. Tobin served on a number of boards including those for Bull Arm Site Corporation, Canadian Centre for Marine Communications and Memorial University’s Genesis Centre.

Mr. Tobin retired from the public service in 2010 and worked for several years in the oil and gas sector with Wood Group and WorleyParsons. Most recently, Mr. Tobin has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Oil and Gas Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador, as Chair of the Board of Directors of Bull Arm Fabrication Inc. and as a member of the Board of Directors of Dairy Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Tobin holds undergraduate degrees as well as a Master of Business Administration from Memorial University.

2021 04 28 4:15 pm