Karen McCarthy

 

Bachelor of Public Relations (Co-op) (1991), Mount Saint Vincent University
Master of Education (2001), Memorial University

Portugal Cove-St. Philips, NL

Chair of the Governance Committee
Member of the Executive Committee

Member since March 2017

Appointed by Lieutenant-Governor in Council

Ms. McCarthy is Vice President, Communications and Corporate Affairs at Fortis Inc. and is based in St. John’s, NL, Canada. She has been with the Fortis group of companies for nearly a decade, joining Newfoundland Power in 2013 as Manager, Corporate Affairs and Communications, and subsequently Director, Customer and Corporate Relations.  She joined Fortis Inc. in 2016 as Director, Communications and Corporate Affairs and was appointed to her current role in 2018. 

Ms. McCarthy was previously President of an Atlantic Canadian public affairs consulting firm for seven years and spent 15 years in the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial public service with senior roles in communications, cabinet operations, energy, labour relations and intergovernmental affairs.

She earned a Bachelor of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University, a Master of Education (Leadership) from Memorial University and was awarded the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) in 2017. She is in year three of a Doctorate in Business Administration program at Athabasca University and her research interest lays at the intersection of corporate governance and social responsibility. Ms. McCarthy is also a member and academic reviewer with Academy of Management and the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, and is a member of the International Corporate Governance Society.

Ms. McCarthy is Chair of the Independent Appointments Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador; Director and Member of the Human Resources and Corporate Governance Committee at Maritime Electric; and Past Chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter of ICD. She was a director with Newfoundland Power a decade ago and member of the Governance and Human Resources Committee. She is active within the Canadian Electricity Association, Edison Electric Institute and International Women’s Forum, is an avid arts and business board volunteer and an amateur musician.