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CancerCare Manitoba announces new president and CEO is Dr. Kent Stobart
CancerCare Manitoba has chosen its new top doc and, after an international search, he was found next door.
Dr. Kent Stobart will take over as head of the provincial cancer authority in Winnipeg on Nov. 1.
He is currently vice-dean of education and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Saskatchewan's college of medicine in Saskatoon.
"A pediatric oncologist and accomplished academic leader, he brings a wealth of experience, deep knowledge of cancer care, and a proven commitment to patients," says a statement from CancerCare Manitoba.
"These qualities will be instrumental in shaping CCMB's future. Given the rigorous and extensive search undertaken for this position, CancerCare Manitoba's board is confident that Dr. Stobart is the right leader to guide CCMB into its next era."
That era includes the construction of a long-promised centre for cancer research and treatment that will get underway next year.
Premier Wab Kinew has said the very preliminary cost estimate is more than $800 million, but that figure could rise to $1 billion. Construction on the facility is expected to take four years.
Dr. Sri Navaratnam, who had been CancerCare president and CEO since January 2014, stepped down in April, months before her contract was set to expire at the end of 2025.
The last year of her leadership was marked by criticism from doctors about stress, burnout and a poor working environment at the agency.
Dr. Donna Turner, CancerCare's chief of population oncology, has filled in as interim president and CEO.
Stobart, who was born in Thunder Bay and raised in Toronto, has previously spent time at CancerCare Manitoba.
He was an associate professor in the University of Manitoba's faculty of medicine from September 1999 until July 2002 and during that time, he practised as a pediatric oncologist at CCMB.
He left for the University of Alberta in Edmonton and also spent time in Ottawa and Toronto before landing at the U of S in September 2015.
