'New skills' needed at Nalcor, Paul Davis says of changes to governance

The provincial government announced Monday it has hired an external consultant to review the governance structure for Nalcor, which could see an increase to the members of the Crown corporation's board of directors.

An external consultant has been tasked to identify what skills and experience are needed at the board level to meet the current needs of the business.

That process will also see people identified with skills suitable to those roles.

Premier Paul Davis said there is a need for "new skills" at Nalcor, as an increasing number of people are appointed to its board.

The current board has five directors, but that number could go up as high as 12, as outlined in recommendations from the consultant.

However, Davis said that number could be less once members are in place to meet certain skill demands.

"They could have much fewer people once they complete the metrics and the number of skills that they're seeking," said Davis.

Davis also suggested there will be a separate CEO for Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro — a subsidiary of Nalcor — in the near future.

Ken Marshall, chair of Nalcor's board of directors, said with the different skills needed in different areas there are needs that need to be met when expanding the board.

"In each organization there will be different skill sets that are going to be required, in the field of oil and gas as an example, in the field of customer service in the case of Hydro," said Marshall.

"There's many different skill sets and expertise which we would like to have on the board, quite frankly."

In a press release, Marshall said the company has expanded from three to 13 companies in the last decade and the governance structure is expanding along with it.