B.C. Ferries CEO Mike Corrigan has handed in his notice, with the corporation more buoyant than when he took charge in 2012.
Corrigan, 55, will step down as president and chief executive officer effective March 31, 2017, when his contract runs out. An executive search has begun and will look at candidates within B.C. Ferries and outside.
In an interview, Corrigan said he is unsure of what his next job will be and is exploring several options. “But I can’t see myself running a complex, major transportation company again,” he said. “I think I will look for something that gives me more flexibility.”
Corrigan joined B.C. Ferries in 2003, coming from the energy industry. His educational background is in business, and he paid for school with a minor pro-hockey career. As a junior player he was on a line with Dale Hawerchuk, who went on to play 16 seasons in the NHL, and was on the Cornwall Royals team that won the Memorial Cup in 1980.
Nine days after the sinking of Queen of the North in 2006, Corrigan was made chief operating officer, a post he held when he was made CEO.
Friday’s announcement, made at B.C. Ferries’ annual meeting in Vancouver, comes at a time when the corporation’s revenues are up. Three new vessels are being built to run on liquefied natural gas. Corrigan also oversaw introduction of a drop-trailer service, which allows transport trucks to drop their trailers at a ferry terminal to be picked up by a truck on the other side, and a decrease in executive pay.
He said he is most proud of improving safety. “We have a much safer operation today than we have ever had before. It’s good for the employees and it’s good for the passengers.”
B.C. Transportation Minister Todd Stone and Graeme Johnston, head of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers Union, also cited Corrigan’s commitment to safety.
Johnston gave Corrigan credit for a strong commitment to on-the-job safety and honorable dealings. “In his dealings with the union, Mike was always classy, dignified and fair,” Johnston said .
Stone said the SailSafe program, a joint initiative of B.C. Ferries and the union, earned a certificate of recognition from WorkSafe B.C. “I have appreciated Mike’s leadership and have developed a tremendous amount of respect for him,” Stone said in a statement.
Stone praised Corrigan’s willingness to embrace new technology, citing the Baynes Sound Connector cable ferry, and the move to liquefied natural gas fuel as examples. The projects are expected to save fuel and reduce costs.
B.C. Ferries came under fire in 2013 for a multi-year plan to save $19 million across the ferry system, in part by cutting service. Sailings on 16 smaller routes were cut in 2014. Plans to reduce service on major routes were announced, but later cancelled, with the corporation saying it had decided the cuts didn’t make economic sense.
Brian Hollingshead of Saturna Island, a member of the ferry advisory committee, said Corrigan took the committee’s concerns seriously and was always available. His “time on the operations side of the company before becoming CEO gave him an appreciation of the complexities of the system,” Hollingshead said in an email.
New Democrat transport critic Claire Trevena said Corrigan had been an effective CEO, but blasted Stone and the provincial government for not investing in the ferry service and allowing fares to increase over the past 15 years.
Frank Bourree, partner in Chemistry Consulting, which follows the tourism industry, said Corrigan also deserved credit for steering B.C. Ferries through the economic downturn.
“It’s a tough job,” Bouree said. “He has a real solid, attentive management style.”
Corrigan said the biggest challenge facing his successor will be the continued replacing of the fleet. “We are still fighting the challenge of having older vessels than we should have.”
