Executive Management Team

Connie Fair

President & Chief Executive Officer

Connie joined BC Assessment in 1993 as the Director of Policy, Audit and Legal Services. In 1999, she was appointed as the Executive Director of Corporate Services and in 2004, she was appointed as the Executive Director of Assessment. In April 2007, she was assigned as the Executive Director of Business and Customer Services. Connie was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer by the BC Assessment Board of Directors in May 2008.

Prior to joining BC Assessment, Connie worked as a real estate consultant and as Associate Director, Real Estate Division of the University of British Columbia where she also taught at the Sauder School of Business.  She obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in 1984 and a Masters of Business Administration majoring in Organizational Behaviour and Urban Land Economics in 1988. 

An accomplished author and speaker, Connie has been recognized as an expert in real property assessment and taxation and a leader of organizational change initiatives.

Connie's interests include golf, yoga, and hiking. Connie has two children and lives in Victoria.

Peter Bretherton

Vice President, Field Operations

Peter has been with BC Assessment since 1979 and has held a number of appraisal and management positions throughout the province. He was previously the Area Assessor for the Vancouver Island Region.

In early 2007, he was appointed to the Executive Committee as the Executive Director, Assessment. In this role, and his new appointment, Peter oversees regional assessment operations in the Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island.

Peter is an accredited appraiser and a member of the Real Estate Institute of British Columbia. He was elected Governor of the Victoria Chapter in 2008, and is currently serving on the Board of Directors as Vice President.

David Highfield

Vice President , Field Operations

David joined BC Assessment in 1975 and has since held a variety of appraisal and leadership positions throughout the province. He is currently on the BC Assessment Executive Committee and oversees the operations of all the assessment regions in the province, with the exception of those in the Lower Mainland and Southern Vancouver Island. He last served as the Assessor in the Vancouver Sea to Sky Region.

David is an Accredited Appraiser with the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AACI) and holds a professional designation with the Real Estate Institute of BC (RI). He has served on the Boards of a variety of business-related and professional organizations and is currently Past President of the Appraisal Institute of Canada. He is often called on for presentations, training and facilitation.

David and his wife presently reside in New Westminster.

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Andy Hoggarth

Vice President and Executive Financial Officer

Andy is a Certified General Accountant, a Certified Aboriginal Financial Manager, and a Certified Corporate Director. 

Before joining BC Assessment, Andy assisted with the start-up of a First Nations agency and acted as a business consultant to other First Nations.  Andy has spent the majority of his career as a senior executive and financial officer in the utility industry including electricity distribution, electricity generation, water treatment, waste treatment, telecommunications and professional services.  Andy began his career in public accounting providing financial, audit and tax services.  He has also served on a number of Boards of Directors in the capacity as Chair, Vice Chair and a member of many committees including Chair of Audit. 

He was educated in Ontario receiving his Bachelor of Administration degree from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, and college diplomas in Financial Management and Human Resource Management from Sir Sandford Fleming College in Peterborough. 

Andy is responsible for Financial Services, Internal Audit, Corporate Performance, Corporate Planning, Risk Management, and Facilities.

 

Laurie McAmmond

Vice President, Human Resources

Laurie joined BC Assessment in 2000 as Manager of Human Resources. Prior to that, she had over twenty years of professional and senior management experience in the private and public sectors. Laurie has worked in the Financial, Health and Education fields.

In early 2006, Laurie was appointed as Executive Director, Corporate Services. She was responsible for the overall performance of Finance, Human Resources, Information Services and Client Services groups. Laurie was appointed to her new role in September 2008.

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Harry Mercer

Vice President, Business and Customer Services

Harry has an extensive telecom and IT background, with experience in technology innovation, business transformation, change management, competitive strategy, business development, marketing, sales, operations and customer service and technology management. Harry has worked with a number of organizations including AppLocation Systems Inc. and xwave in Victoria, Telus in Vancouver and a number of IT companies in Ottawa and New Brunswick.

Harry’s educational background includes an Electrical Engineering degree and completion of numerous Management and Leadership programs through McGill University, Harvard Business School and the University of Western Ontario. 

In his new role with BC Assessment, Harry will be responsible for Customer and Systems Services, Information Technology and Project Management.

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Andy Robinson

Vice President, Policy and Legal Services

For the last three years Andy Robinson was the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Strategic and Corporate Policy Division in the Ministry of Finance and was responsible for: tax policy; Intergovernmental fiscal relations; and regulation of the financial and corporate sectors (credit unions, insurance, real estate).

Before becoming ADM, Andy was the Director of the Tax Policy Branch, Treasury Board Staff.  In 1996, Andy spent two months as a tax advisor to the Vietnamese Government (CIDA project).

Andy has a BA in Economics from the University of Victoria and a MA in Economics from the University of Western Ontario.

Andy has held various working positions within the provincial government. These include economic forecasting and analysis of economic policy issues for the Ministry of Finance, and expenditure analyst for the Ministry of Health.

In 1988-1989, Mr. Robinson worked with the federal Department of Finance as a tax policy analyst working on GST policy development.