* CanWest Global executive vp, Leonard Asper has been named chief operating officer of the company. As part of the reorganization, Asper will be responsible for the CanWest Entertainment division, which includes Toronto-based prodco Fireworks Entertainment as well as Irish broadcasting investment TV3 Ireland.

* Tele-Quebec has named Rene-Jean Mercier to the post of director-general, production and technologies. Mercier spent many years with Radio-Canada’s engineering department and is active with the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers and the Advanced Television Systems Committee.

* Rob Dewhirst has been named the executive director of the Saskatchewan Motion Picture Association.

* The Atlantic Film Festival has promoted Lia Rinaldo to program director and Gregor Ash to operations manager for the 19th annual festival, which runs Sept. 17-25, 1999 in Halifax.

* Deborah Carver is the new vp of communications at Salter Street Films.

* Rainmaker Digital Pictures, the post-production arm of Rainmaker Entertainnment in Vancouver, has promoted compositer Brian Moylan to the position of director of digital imaging and head of the effects department.

Former new media production manager Grant Bowen has been named production manager of effects services and will work with Moylan on the day-to-day management of the effects department.

Longtime Rainmaker employee Ken Hayward has been appointed director of technical development for Rainmaker Digital and will be in charge of evaluating the technical products and procedures.

* Danielle Iversen has left her position as sales executive at Ellis Enterprises.

* Brian Patterson has left his position as director of sales for Toronto-based Magnetic North.

* James B. Macdonald, president and ceo of WIC Television, has been elected chair of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, replacing chum’s Duff Roman, who served a two-year term.

Daniel Lamarre president and ceo of Groupe tva, Montreal, has been elected television chair and Beverley Oda, senior vp industry affairs at Baton Broadcasting, Toronto, is vice-chair.

Claude Beaudoin, president, broadcasting division at Telemedia Communications, Montreal, returns as radio chair and joining him for a second term as radio vice-chair is Jim MacLeod, president and gm ckoc/cklh-fm, Hamilton.

Mark Rubinstein, vp/gm, CHUM Television Group, is chair of the new specialty board, with Raynald Briere, vp specialty channels and regulatory affairs at tva, as specialty board vice-chair.

Michael Carter, vp/ceo Cogeco Radio Television, Montreal, is treasurer and Rick Arnish, president of The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, Kamloops, b.c., is special delegate.

Michael McCabe is cab president and ceo.