CBC president Perrin Beatty is stepping down from his post earlier than expected to head up the Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters of Canada.

‘I had planned to leave at the end of March when my term came to an end, but because of [cbc executive vp] Jim McCoubrey’s car accident and because the crtc-hearing-to-end-all-crtc-hearings was coming up, it was important for me to stay on,’ says Beatty. After working 21 years in the public sphere (and on seven government /public sector portfolios), he plans to spend the remainder of his professional life in the private sector.

Although Beatty says he looked at a number of options, his choosing the Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters is not as unlikely as many might think.

Beatty’s great grandfather founded the organization and his grandfather and father were both its president. ‘It’s an area where there is no difficulty with post-employment guidelines – the conflict-of-interest guidelines that apply to order [in] council employees – which I would have had [to consider] if I would have moved somewhere in the broadcasting industry,’ he says. ‘It’s a great opportunity for me to make a contribution in an area related to public policy that affects everyone (including the cbc as an international exporter of programming).’

When Beatty joined the cbc in 1995, Tony Manera had just resigned and the pubcaster was facing major budget reductions. It was a desperate period, but Beatty, who was appointed president ‘out of the blue,’ says, ‘the corporation has (since) successfully overcome a $400 million a year financial challenge, it’s broadcasting more Canadian content than ever before, instead of closing stations we’ve opened new ones, we’ve taken Radio One to a 24-hour-a-day schedule and we’re winning more awards for quality than ever before. Plus we’ve moved aggressively into new media and positioned the corporation for the future.’

That being said, Beatty is optimistic that the cbc will continue to flourish. He also believes the corporation’s appeal to cabinet over the crtc’s rejection of the Reseau des Arts (Arts Network) specialty channel application will end with the regulator taking another look at rda.

As to speculation over whether Radio-Canada vp Michele Fortin’s days are numbered, Beatty replies: ‘this is an outstanding person, she is quite brilliant…very highly respected, and it’s not Michele Fortin who is taking on the case of Reseau des Arts [to cabinet], it’s the whole of the corporation and the whole of the community that believes in arts and culture…’.

Although the Prime Minister’s office has not indicated when it will announce Beatty’s replacement, it’s speculated it will come at the July 27 cabinet meeting, or mid-August during the national Liberal caucus meeting in Halifax.

Likely candidates include consultant Robert Rabinovitch, Telefilm’s Francois Macerola, cable man Richard Stursberg, broadcaster Adrienne Clarkson, and McCoubrey, who will be Beatty’s interim replacement as of July 26.

Although Beatty is leaving the building on July 26 and not returning, he officially remains president until Aug. 15.