Catherine McLay elected as chair, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s board of directors

Today, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority board of directors announces Catherine McLay as its incoming chair effective July 1, 2023 for a two-year term. Catherine joined the port authority’s board of directors in 2017.

Catherine replaces outgoing chair, Judy Rogers. Judy has served as chair since August 2018 and was appointed to the board of directors in 2017.

Catherine is a former chief financial officer and executive vice president finance and corporate services with TransLink. She has also worked in the forest sector in several senior executive roles at Canfor and Howe Sound Pulp and Paper.

Catherine currently serves on the boards of the Insurance Corporate of British Columbia and Coast Mountain Bus Company, and has served on the boards of Providence Health Care, Transportation Property and Casualty Company Inc., British Columbia Rapid Transit Company Inc., Vancouver Coastal Health, and Canfor Asia Corporation. She is an International Certified Business Coach, a fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia and a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors Education Program.

The chair of the board is accountable to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s board of directors and is responsible for providing leadership to the board, while fostering relationships between the board and the federal government, the port authority, and port communities. In this capacity, Catherine will work closely with port authority executives, while maintaining an independent perspective to best represent the interests of the port authority as it focuses on fulfilling its federal mandate to enable Canada’s trade through the Port of Vancouver, while protecting the environment and considering local communities.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s board of directors is composed of 11 members: eight board members are appointed by the federal government, with seven of those appointments made with input from port users; one member is appointed by the Province of British Columbia; one member is appointed collectively by the prairie provinces Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba; and one member is appointed collectively by the 16 municipalities bordering the port.

Learn more about governance and our board of directors.