The CEO of BC Pavilion Corp. (PavCo), the Crown corporation that operates B.C. Place and the Vancouver Convention Centre, has resigned his post and is leaving at the end of July, it was announced Wednesday.
Warren Buckley is among the highest-paid public employees in the province. During the 2010-2011 fiscal year, he was paid $513,485. He did not immediately respond to an interview request.
PavCo chairman David Podmore denied Buckley's resignation was connected to the government's ongoing review of Crown corporation finances and operations.
Buckley, originally the sales manager at 1983-opened B.C. Place, rose to the presidency in the mid-1990s before leaving to run the Suntec Singapore convention centre in 2001.
When Premier Gordon Campbell appointed Podmore head of PavCo in 2007, Podmore lured Buckley back to Vancouver to guide the organization through the completion of the $883 million convention centre expansion and $563 million stadium renovation.
The convention centre expansion was originally supposed to cost $495 million and the stadium's original renewal budget was $365 million.
Buckley's name also appeared on the shingle of the 1999-formed, Seattle-based Buckley-Christison International venue management consultancy. Buckley said he was not involved with former Washington State Convention Centre CEO John Christison.
"For some 13 years of its existence, I have not participated in its operations, nor earned any fees," he told Business in Vancouver recently.
Buckley is the fourth high-profile departure from PavCo in less than a year. Fairmont Hotel Vancouver general manager Mark Andrew quit last fall when he was transferred to the Fairmont Washington, D.C. The February resignations of Peter Brown and Derek Brindle were not confirmed until March and April, respectively. Brown, founding chairman of Canaccord Financial, and Brindle, a construction lawyer with Singleton Urquhart, quit after the February 9 board meeting. The board met again February 15 without them. In February, the government turned down PavCo's recommendation to sell B.C. Place naming rights to Telus for $35 million to $40 million over 20 years.
The official PavCo line was that Brown and Brindle left because PavCo's major construction phase was over. Podmore said their seats remain vacant, "with the intention to fill them both in time. The process of considering potential board candidates is under way."
Podmore, however, is remaining with the Crown corporation.
"I am not resigning at this time, there are a number of projects in progress that I must address and complete," Podmore told BIV in May.
"Minister (Pat) Bell and I have a great working relationship and are both working to transition the board to an increased focus on sales, marketing and operation of the recently completed and refurbished facilities."
B.C. Place is forecasting a $49 million operational loss over the next three years and a B.C. Supreme Court trial looms in October 2013 between roofing cost overruns.
As of December, PavCo spent $490.04 million on the budgeted $563 million stadium renovation, according to Freedom of Information records. Minor work continues during better spring weather, but the final bill to taxpayers remains a mystery.
"Final reconciliations are still being done and the exact total cost will be reported once that is completed," said Podmore, who did not give any timeline hint.
