Ron Stern stepping down as head of Free Press’ parent company

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This article was published 21/11/2019 (2457 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two decades after leading an effort to buy the Winnipeg Free Press, Ron Stern is stepping down as director and president of the newspaper’s parent company, FP Newspapers Inc.

“After almost 18 years in the role, it is time for a more Winnipeg-based board of directors to lead the company through the next stages of its development,” Stern said in a statement Thursday.

“I am extremely proud of the Free Press, and its role in the city and the province, and will continue to be committed to its ongoing progress. I am also very appreciative of the dedication and many accomplishments of the teams at the Winnipeg Free Press, Brandon Sun, Canstar Community News division, and the Carillon in Steinbach, and am confident that the changes we are making today will bring new ideas an approaches to our ongoing development.”

Stern will continue in his ownership role in the company.

With the change, Bob Silver, a company director since 2002 and president of Western Glove Works, takes over the reins as president and chairman of FP Newspapers, while Darryl Levy joins the company’s board, effective Thursday.

Levy is president and chief executive officer of Wynward Insurance Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of James Richardson and Sons Ltd. He is also vice-chairman of the Business Council of Manitoba, co-chairman of the United Way of Winnipeg’s major corporations division, and a trustee of the Richardson Foundation.

Levy is also a former president of the Western Canada region for Rogers Communications Inc.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca