Mark Badger resigning from CPIA; Greg Wilkinson to step in as interim leader

Mark Badger, the president and CEO of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA), is stepping down, to be replaced on an interim basis by CPIA Board of Directors chairman Greg Wilkinson.

Badger, who has been at the helm of CPIA since March 2009, will leave at the end of March to take on a new business leadership opportunity that CPIA says will be announced shortly. Prior to joining CPIA, Badger was vice president with vinyl extrusion supplier Royal Group Technologies Ltd.

Wilkinson – president of Toronto consulting firm Third Oak Associates Inc., and before that the vice president of public and government affairs for Nova Chemicals Corp. – will immediately take over from Badger. “CPIA is the voice of the industry in Canada and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to play a role promoting plastics,” Wilkinson said in a statement.

In a related move, Paul Cohen, manager of Brampton, Ont.-based blown film extruder W. Ralston (Canada) Inc., will move up from his vice chairman role to replace Wilkinson as CPIA chairman.

“CPIA is well positioned to create increasing value for its members in the years ahead, as a result of its energized staff, its engaged Board of Directors and the contributions of many industry volunteers,” Badger said in a news release. “Greg Wilkinson is the perfect person to lead the next phase of CPIA’s development, as a result of his involvement in the association’s turnaround, his strong advocacy skills and his collaborative style of engagement.”

The CPIA experienced a period of revitalization during the two years of Badger’s leadership. The organization’s membership expanded and its balance sheet was strengthened, in part by trimming costs and relocating to a smaller office. Badger was also the driving force behind a recent series of so-called “Innovation Forums” held in Toronto and Vancouver; the well-attended meetings were designed to foster connections between plastics processors and academic researchers.  

“On behalf of the Board I want to thank Mark Badger for the terrific job he has done over the past two years leading a textbook turnaround of the organization and laying the groundwork for further success down the road,” Cohen said in a news release.