SaskTel Board Names President and CEO

August 3, 2023

Today, the SaskTel Board of Directors appointed Charlene Gavel as President and CEO, effective immediately. Ms. Gavel will take over the lead role, after an extensive and open search process, from Doug Burnett, who announced his retirement in February 2023.

Ms. Gavel has been the Chief Financial Officer for SaskTel for 9 years, and the SaskTel Board is confident she has the in-depth industry, financial, and business knowledge to take on the leadership role. Ms. Gavel is well respected within the company and with her extensive experience in developing effective and innovative strategic plans is well positioned to lead the company in a highly competitive communications industry.

Prior to becoming SaskTel Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Gavel was the Chief Financial Officer at SaskTel International and held positions with the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Financial Services, and at Information Services Corporation (ISC) as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance and Administration.

Ms. Gavel earned a Bachelor of Administration (BAdmin) degree from the University of Regina and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA). She has also achieved the Institute of Corporate Directors designation (ICD.D.) in 2018 and she currently serves on the boards of SaskTel International, the Public Employees Pension Plan (PEPP), the Conexus Arts Centre, and the Hospitals of Regina Foundation.

SaskTel Board Chair Grant Kook thanked outgoing President and CEO, Doug Burnett, for his leadership during his tenure with SaskTel over the past 30 years.

"Doug Burnett has been instrumental in leading SaskTel through major infrastructure projects, including the 5G Network Modernization Program, Wireless Saskatchewan, and the ongoing Rural Fibre Initiative," said Don Morgan, Minister Responsible for SaskTel. "I’m pleased to welcome Charlene Gavel to her new role as CEO. Her extensive knowledge and experience with SaskTel will be a significant asset as the company continues investing in communities across Saskatchewan."

About SaskTel

SaskTel is the leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) provider in Saskatchewan, with approximately $1.3 billion in annual revenue and nearly 1.4 million customer connections including more than 654,000 wireless accesses, 257,000 wireline network accesses, 295,000 internet and data accesses, 111,000 maxTV service subscribers, and 77,000 security monitoring customers. SaskTel and its wholly-owned subsidiaries offer a wide range of ICT products and services including competitive voice, data and Internet services, wireless data services, maxTV services, data centre services, cloud-based services, security monitoring services, advertising services, and international software and consulting services. SaskTel and its wholly-owned subsidiaries have a workforce of approximately 3,300 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). Visit SaskTel at www.sasktel.com.