Ryan Kuffner named new CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg

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This article was published 19/07/2023 (818 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s lead economic development agency is getting a new boss — and he knows the place well.

Ryan Kuffner will replace Dayna Spiring as Economic Development Winnipeg’s president and CEO, the organization announced Tuesday.

Kuffner, currently Economic Development Winnipeg’s vice-president of sales and business development, was hired by Spiring in 2017.

“I’m incredibly excited to get started (as CEO),” Kuffner said, joining Spiring on a conference call. “My passion is to try to improve my community in whatever ways I can.”

Economic Development Winnipeg’s board picked him out of 75 candidates, 12 of which underwent interviews.

Prior to joining Economic Development Winnipeg, Kuffner held high-profile positions with Canada’s Foreign Service. He spent more than 15 years as a trade diplomat representing Canada, including as the head of trade and investment at the Canadian embassy in Ecuador.

Economic Development Winnipeg teams have driven total capital investment of $999 million while Kuffner has been vice-president, the organization’s news release states. The entity has a mandate to attract tourists, talent and investment to the city.

“I’m thrilled that the board chose Ryan,” said Spiring, who wasn’t involved in the CEO hiring process. “It was a really thorough process, and the fact that the right person for the job was sitting down the hall from me, I think, is pretty fantastic.”

The in-house hire signals that Economic Development Winnipeg is “doing a lot of things right,” Spiring said.

“It’s really comforting for the jurisdiction and our team that that continuity is there,” she added. “I’ve seen what Ryan’s been able to do, I’ve seen the leader he is.”

Kuffner said he’d like to strengthen public-private partnerships between Economic Development Winnipeg and government. The development agency is tied to Tourism Winnipeg.

“I think it’s a unique model, and it’s one that we have an opportunity to leverage in terms of attracting visitors… and talent to our city,” Kuffner said. “For us to do that really effectively, we have to work in partnership with our public sector partners.”

He applauded Economic Development Winnipeg’s private sector partnerships. In his current role, he led the organization’s Real Impact campaign, driving more than $1 million in private sector funding over five years, according to an Economic Development Winnipeg news release.

“We may never be the biggest economic development agency in Canada, but there’s no reason why we can’t be the best pound for pound,” Kuffner said.

He’ll assume the role of president and CEO on Aug. 21. Spiring began the position in 2016; her last day will be Aug. 18.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com