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Chi-Cheemaun’s parent company hires new CEO

Carl Kuhnke took helm of Owen Sound Transportation Company in December
chi-cheemaun2
The MS Chi-Cheemaun ferry sails Lake Huron between Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula and South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island. (OSTC photo)

The Owen Sound Transportation Company (OSTC) has a new president and CEO.

Carl Kuhnke was named to the position in December following what the organization described as a “competitive selection process.”

Kuhnke replaces long-time CEO Susan Scrempf, who retired last January after leading the transportation company for two decades.

A resident of Walkerton, Ont., Kuhnke previously served as CEO of the Walkerton Clean Water Centre, where he oversaw the Ontario government’s research, technology, and training agency for the province’s drinking water system.

During his tenure there, Kuhnke directed the centre’s new priority First Nations initiative, training drinking water operators and managers of the 134 First Nations in Ontario.

In his previous roles, Kuhnke was the managing director for the Saskatchewan Centre of Excellence for Transportation and Infrastructure between 2013 and 2017; executive director of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Society of Canada between 2008 and 2013; and CEO of the Canada-BC Business Centre between 1999 and 2002.

The Owen Sound Transportation Company is an agency of the Government of Ontario, operating five public ferries across the province.

That includes the MS Chi-Cheemaun, which runs a seasonal service between Manitoulin Island and the Bruce Peninsula, as well as the MV Niska I, which provides vehicle, freight, and passenger transportation services between Moosonee and Moose Factory Island on the Moose River at the mouth of James Bay.