RECA Announces New Registrar and COO

We are pleased to announce Warren Martinson, RECA’s current Director of Corporate Services, has been appointed as Registrar by RECA’s Board of Directors, effective August 25, 2022.

Mr. Martinson has been with RECA since 2018 and has been the Director of Corporate Services since February 2019. A graduate of the University of Saskatchewan’s law school, he received his Masters of Administrative Law from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2007. After private practice, Mr. Martinson joined the Alberta Insurance Council as Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, a position he held for 16 years. Mr. Martinson joined RECA in 2018 as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary before moving into leadership of the Corporate Services division in 2019. He received his Masters of Business Administration from Haskayne School of Business in 2017.

“Mr. Martinson brings a distinguished academic background and strong experience to the position of Registrar,” said David James, Interim Board Chair. “His work with the Alberta Insurance Council and RECA, as well as his legal training, position him well to lead RECA’s efforts to protect Alberta consumers and ensure RECA licensees are abiding by their regulatory obligations under the legislation.”

The new appointment was made after RECA’s current Registrar, Charles Stevenson, announced his retirement effective August 24, 2022.

Mr. Stevenson had been with RECA since 2010, in the role as Registrar for much of his tenure. As RECA’s Registrar, he was responsible for its regulatory requirements, including licensing and discipline as well as trust assurance and practice review.

“Charles has brought a level of extraordinary professionalism to his role,” said Russ Morrow, Chief Executive Officer (CEO). “His actions have been disciplined, consistent and fair and I have appreciated his sincerity, humour and humility as a colleague. I wish him all the best in his next endeavours.”

With this change, RECA will restructure its organization, merging its Corporate Services and Stakeholder Engagement divisions under a new Chief Operating Officer (COO) position. Janice Harrington, who recently joined RECA as the Director of Stakeholder Engagement, has been appointed to the COO role, effective August 25, 2022.

Ms. Harrington brings more than two decades of senior executive experience in strategic communications, public affairs, government relations, strategic planning, and leadership. She joined RECA in June after acting as Alberta’s Health Advocate and Mental Health Patient Advocate. She has extensive experience in change management and mergers, including the amalgamation of the accounting professions into the single Charted Professional Accountant (CPA) designation and association.

“Janice’s experience in not-for-profit and government environments was preceded by a lengthy career in the private sector,” said Mr. Morrow. “She has vast experience at senior leadership levels in building effective organizations and we are very pleased to have her in the COO role at RECA.”