MPI to get new CEO next week Leader expected to turn around Crown corporation mired in scandal By: Danielle Da Silva Posted: 3:47 PM CST Friday, Jan. 26, 2024

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A new chief executive officer is ready to step into the driver’s seat at Manitoba Public Insurance and steer the Crown corporation after months of turmoil at the wheel.

MPI board chairperson Carmen Nedohin said a new president and CEO will be announced next week, after the public auto insurer spent eight months without a permanent leader.

The main priorities for the new CEO will be to develop a corporate strategy and implement the recommendations of a government-ordered organizational review that was released Friday, Nedohin said.

“We believe very strongly that we have chosen the right CEO to take a look at the report and work with us,” she said, after the public release of the 114-page report by consulting firm Ernst & Young.

“They are going to have a very big job to do, but we have no doubt whatsoever that they’ll be able to handle that quite well and efficiently, and quickly.”

The EY review concluded MPI’s management structure lacks accountability and stability, owing to a lack of clearly defined roles and responsibilities for senior leaders and significant organizational changes over the past two years.

Overall, the Crown auto insurer has operated without a solid corporate strategy or key performance indicators, leading to confusion and a lost sense of direction, which has manifested in its financial and workforce planning, according to the report.

Nedohin said MPI accepts the findings of the review and recommendations, which provide sound guidance and well-informed advice.

“It is also an actionable starting point for MPI’s incoming chief executive officer,” she said. “Once in place, the CEO will lead development of MPI’s new long-term corporate strategy and future state, which is the first step in stabilizing the organization.”

 

Nedohin said MPI’s most recent strategic plan, titled MPI 2.0, will not be used as a starting point for the new CEO.

MPI 2.0 was a “five-year ambition” defined under previous CEO Eric Herbelin and focused on a digital-led transformation. It was never fully implemented as an official strategic plan because of its complexity, the report found.

Nedohin described plans by MPI’s former leadership as overly ambitious, unrealistic and unachievable.

The report also determined MPI has a relatively high number of management layers for an organization of its size and complexity, with 349 employees holding managerial titles. Of those, 20 people did not have anyone reporting to them directly and another 84 had fewer than four people reporting to them.

The ratio of managers-to-“direct reports” was considered “less than optimal” and warrants further investigation, the report said. It recommended managerial layers be reduced.

“There may be some managers who are not in the right positions at the moment that need to be aligned in different areas”–Carmen Nedohin

Nedohin declined to offer an opinion on whether MPI has too many people in managerial roles. About 200 positions identified in the EY report are supervisors and are unionized, according to MPI.

“There may be some managers who are not in the right positions at the moment that need to be aligned in different areas,” she said. “That’s going to be a collaborative process between the new CEO and the senior leadership team to identify what is the right balance.”

To date, Nedohin said the board has not taken any specific actions in response to the review, which was provided to MPI in mid-December.

Rather, the board is waiting for the new CEO to start their job and lay the framework of a strategic plan within the first 30 days. It will have defined goals and clearly assigned accountability and ownership, supported by appropriate resources, she said.

As for MPI’s $290-million technology modernization initiative — dubbed Project Nova — Nedohin said the new CEO will be responsible for ensuring adequate executive oversight.

“With the appointment of the new CEO, you’ll find very quickly that there will be some people who are going to take on a different kind of role within the organization, in that specific area”–Carmen Nedohin

Earlier this month, MPI confirmed former chief transformation officer Shayon Mitra was no longer employed by the corporation. No explanation was provided.

Hiring for the position will be up to the incoming CEO, Nedohin said.

According to the report, responsibility for Nova was split between the information technology and digital and transformation divisions.

“Without clear owners (of Project Nova) in place, responsibility for decision making has faltered, resulting in confusion around roles and directions, exorbitant expenses and implementation errors,” the report stated, confirming concerns raised by the Public Utilities Board over a lack of management control of IT expenses.

“With the appointment of the new CEO, you’ll find very quickly that there will be some people who are going to take on a different kind of role within the organization, in that specific area,” Nedohin said.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca