New deputy minister lineup unveiled

Mr. Dicerni will head a new team of deputy ministers to support Premier Prentice’s agenda to better serve the people of Alberta.

“Deputy ministers lead the day-to-day machinery of government and implement the direction of Cabinet. I have faith that Mr. Dicerni will provide strong leadership to this skilled deputy minister team. I expect this team to drive the delivery of programs and services, achieve excellence across Alberta’s public service, and help government be accountable to Albertans.”

Deputy minister appointments were among the top items of business decided at the first meeting of Premier Prentice’s new Cabinet, which met immediately following the swearing-in ceremony.

Following the transition to Mr. Dicerni, the current deputy minister of Executive Council, Steve MacDonald, will work with Premier Prentice on the critical task of redefining Alberta’s approach to energy and climate change.  

Deputy Minister Assignments

Name of Ministry	Name of Deputy Minister
Executive Council	Richard Dicerni
Aboriginal Relations	Donavon Young
International and Intergovernmental Relations	Gitane DeSilva
Finance	Ray Gilmour
Health	David Breakwell (Acting)
Municipal Affairs	Brad Pickering
Energy	Grant Sprague
Education	Gene Williams (Acting)
Infrastructure	Barry Day
Agriculture and Rural Development	Jason Krips
Human Services	David Morhart
Environment and Sustainable Resource Development	Bill Werry
Justice and Solicitor General	Tim Grant; Kim Armstrong – Deputy Attorney General
Seniors	Ernie Hui
Innovation and Advanced Education	Marcia Nelson
Culture and Tourism	Shannon Marchand (Acting)
Transportation	Andre Corbould
Service Alberta	Mark Brisson (Acting)
Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour	Greg Bass
Deputy Minister of Leadership and Talent Development; and Public Service Commissioner	Lana Lougheed

Backgrounder

Bio: Richard Dicerni

Richard Dicerni retired in July 2012 from the position of Deputy Minister of Industry Canada, which he held from 2006 to 2012. He is currently Adjunct Professor of Research at the Ivey Business School.  Mr. Dicerni also serves as a Director of Desjardins Financial Securities, the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, as well as being the Vice-Chair of the Ontario Health Innovation Council.

Born and raised in Montreal, Mr. Dicerni graduated from the College Sainte Marie in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts. He pursued graduate studies at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard where he earned a Master’s in Public Administration in 1981.

Mr. Dicerni started his career with the federal government in 1969. In the 1970s and 1980s, he held a number of executive positions in the federal public service including Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Health and Welfare; and Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet. In 1992 he joined the Ontario Government as Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy.  In 1995 he assumed the position of Deputy Minister, Education and Training.

In 1996, Mr. Dicerni was appointed President and CEO of the newly established Canadian Newspaper Association. Mr. Dicerni left this position in 1998 to become Senior Vice President at Ontario Power Generation (OPG). He stayed at OPG for the next seven years and led the company between 2003 and 2005.

Prior to rejoining the Canadian Government, Mr. Dicerni was a partner at Mercer Delta, a management consulting firm.

He has served on the boards of Trent University, the Credit Valley Hospital, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) and the Public Policy Forum.