Mary Van Buren, a bilingual marketing, strategy and digital expert, is the new Canadian Construction Association (CCA) president. She takes over from retiring Michael Atkinson, who first joined CCA in 1981, and has held CCA president’s position since 1993.

“It’s an exciting time to join CCA and the construction industry. I’m thrilled and honoured to work with our executive committee, CCA board and our partner associations to improve the value of the association and to advance the interests of the construction industry, a cornerstone of the Canadian economy,” said Van Buren.

She has worked in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors and has held executive roles at leading associations and not-for-profits, including the Canadian Medical Association’s subsidiary, MD Financial Management, and Export Development Canada. In her most recent role as vice-president of marketing and IT at the Canadian Real Estate Association, Van Buren led a team of 60 to grow its premier services, REALTOR.ca and WEBForms in the double digits.

CCA is celebrating its centennial in 2018 and currently going through a strategic planning exercise.

“Mary’s background in strategy and marketing will be an asset shaping the plan for the next five years and communicating our new priorities and initiatives to our partner associations and members,” said Chris McNally, CCA chair.

Most construction associations in Quebec are now CCA partner associations. CCA’s materials and newsletters are published in both official languages and simultaneous translation has been added for the board meetings and some conference sessions. “Having a bilingual president will further strengthen our capabilities and ties with the Quebec-based partner associations,” remarked McNally.