BOWDEN — The Town of Bowden has a new chief administrative officer (CAO).
Town officials announced that Rudy Friesen, who is the Village of Cremona's current CAO, has been hired for the job. He begins his new post Aug. 22.
Friesen replaces Greg Skotheim, who served as the Town of Bowden's CAO for about three years before announcing plans to retire by July.
Jacqui Molyneux, the Town of Bowden's chief financial officer, will fill in as interim CAO until Friesen can begin his new duties.
Friesen began his working life in broadcasting, but soon switched over to exhibition management, a career that lasted nearly 30 years.
Eventually he rose to general manager of Exhibition Park in Lethbridge, a post he held for 18 years, before becoming CAO of Cremona. He has served as the village’s CAO for the past 16 months.
“Mr. Friesen comes with solid leadership skills, relevant and practical educational credentials, a significant professional network, as well as a thorough understanding of the geographical region and the challenges it faces,” a Town of Bowden news release said.
“In addition, he has a strong desire to integrate into the administrative team at the Town of Bowden, work collaboratively with council and the town residents and continue the positive momentum the town has experienced.”
The release said Friesen’s exhibition management experience “helped him hone his senior leadership skills while working with local and provincial governments, urban and rural stakeholder groups as well as people from all walks of life, across both Alberta and Saskatchewan.”
The release said the CAO position is a key one within the town’s administrative staff.
“We are fortunate to have attracted strong candidates from across Alberta and Western Canada,” it said.
