🏙️ CEO Raghwa Gopal has unexpectedly left Innovate BC
The exec was set to retire in September, but left his post early. Plus, seven stories you've definitely missed.
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Tech industry stalwart Raghwa Gopal, president and CEO of Crown corporation Innovate BC, is retiring early.
The exec announced on April 19 that he would step down from his position in the fall, with his last day in the office on September 1. Less than a month later, Innovate BC has revealed that Gopal has already left the organization.
In a three-sentence-long message posted on its website, the Crown corporation detailed the appointment of new interim president and CEO, Tomica Divic, who was previously the vice president of operations.
“Everyone at Innovate BC offers their heartfelt thanks to former president and CEO Raghwa Gopal for his years of dedicated service,” part of the organization’s statement reads, “and wishes him well as he moves on to pursue new opportunities.”
Gopal appears to have started his new position already. According to his LinkedIn page, his new role is the CEO of M Square Media, a global service provider and international education platform for a number of worldwide colleges and universities. Gopal has been a member of the international advisory board for the company for more than five years.
“Leading a tech-driven education company makes utmost sense to me, having been raised in a very poor family and persevering to build tech companies and business ecosystems that help pluck people out of unemployment and poverty,” he said in an M Square Media press release.
The executive’s unexpected departure will likely ramp up Innovate BC’s slated search for its future leader, as the outfit planned to launch the formal recruitment process for its new head in the fall.
Gopal boasts the longest tenure as president and CEO of Innovate BC in recent history. Greg Caws held the post from June 2013 for two years and nine months, Shirley Vickers held the top job in 2016 for just four months, and Carl Anderson took the reins in 2016 for one year and three months. Vickers returned for one year before Gopal was appointed in 2019. He was president and CEO for four years and two months.
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