Sarah Clark to lead Partnerships BC

British Columbia will soon have a new executive in charge of implementing public-private partnerships across the Western Canadian province.

Sarah Clark will take over the job in October, when she officially becomes the chief executive officer of Partnerships BC, the firm said in a statement.

At that time, Larry Blain will step down as the head of the firm, which functions as the government-owned public-private partnerships (PPPs) implementation body for the province.

The appointment comes at a busy time for Partnerships BC. The firm currently has six projects in procurement, including the C$1.4 billion (€1 billion; $1.3 billion) Evergreen Line, an 11 kilometre light rapid transit system in Vancouver.

Under Blain’s eight-year tenure, Partnerships BC has helped the province deliver 35 infrastructure projects in the form of PPPs. These included 360 kilometres of new highway, 19.5 kilometres of rapid transit, five hospital emergency care departments and six bridges, among others.

The firm’s role is to facilitate PPPs by providing business case analyses for PPP candidates and helping manage the procurement and management of the PPP contracts once they are executed.

Throughout her five-year tenure at the firm, Clark has been involved in several of these functions. As vice president of partnerships development and delivery, she’s been responsible for both the management of Partnerships BC’s current engagements and resourcing new PPP structures and opportunities, according to her biography.

Rick Mahler, chair of the Partnerships BC board of directors, said in a statement that Clark’s appointment was meant to ensure “continuity and consistency” for the firm’s employees, clients and the PPP market.

Mahler will step down from his job as chair of the board effective October, according to the statement. He will be replaced in the position by Blain.