Halifax has finally found a replacement for dearly retired Greg Keefe, announcing today it has hired former Capital Health vice-president Amanda Whitewood as HRM's new chief financial officer.
Whitewood will take over the position of director finance/ICT and CFO starting on July 27.
For the last several years Whitewood served as CFO and vice president sustainability for Capital Health. That position was eliminated back in March when the province amalgamated nine different health authorities, laying off 33 vice presidents and their assistants in the process. Before that, Whitewood was vice president of administration for Mount Saint Vincent University from 2001 to 2008. She also served as director of capital finance and budgets for the Department of Health from 1990 to 1995.
She replaces Keefe, who retired from city hall back in June.
According to the city, Whitehood has spent more than 25 years serving “in diverse leadership roles within the provincial health and education sectors.”
“She has also served on the boards of dozens of regional and national health, academic and trade organizations and is an avid supporter of community sustainability and collaboration,” writes a spokesperson for HRM in an email to The Coast.
She’s also really into cake decorating.
Whitewood and her daughter run The Sugar Nursery Cake Shop & Imaginarium, attending conventions and taking classes in cake baking and decorating concepts. Their not-for-profit company offers custom creations for “charity auctions, community organizations, weddings, retirement parties, milestone anniversaries” and more. That includes baking cakes for Icing Smiles, an international charity that provides personalized celebratory cakes to children suffering from life-threatening illnesses.
It would probably be a conflict of interest for Whitewood to bake a delicious cake celebrating her new job with the city and offer yummy pieces to all the reporters hanging around at City Hall. But I don't think anyone would be too upset with her if she did.
