Mark IV Toll gets new president Chris Murray - Martin Capper retiring (PERSONNEL)

Mark IV IVHS the Mississauga Ontario based-business that provides the transponders and readers for the E-ZPass Inter Agency Group is losing Martin Capper, president since 2001 and a senior officer there previously.  Capper has presided over the growth of Mark IV into the largest supplier of electronic toll equipment in north America.

We'd noticed that Chris Murray was recently mentioned as president and Capper as CEO and we emailed Capper asking, confidentially of course, if he had been quietly demoted, the victim of a stealthy corporate coup?

There was never any official announcement of a change at the top of Mark IV IVHS, and a Fact Sheet on the corporate website still has him as President.

Capper, 58, tells us this morning he's retiring from a fulltime position at Mark IV IVHS around the end of this year, but hopes to continue as a part-time consultant for Mark IV and others after that. He wants to have a shot at politics next year - local politics - and can't do that while holding down a fulltime job.

Meanwhile no corporate coup to report - only an apparently orderly transition under way that was discussed and planned with the company board of directors as far back as 18 months ago, Capper says. He found the new president Chris Murray, who arrived late last year.

Chris Murray

Here's the official bio for the new President:

"Christopher 'Chris' Murray joined MARK IV IVHS as president in December 2008.  Prior to joining MARK IV, he was at CHEP, a $3.5 billion logistics services company, where he held several executive positions including Vice President, National Account Sales and Vice President, Distributor Programs.

"Prior to CHEP, Murray worked for Ryder Logistics and Bridgestone Corporation, including three years in Japan, in a number of marketing, operations and strategic roles.  Murray holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in Japanese with a concentration in finance.
 
"He studied Japanese Studies at the International Christian University in Tokyo.  Chris is 44 years old." END OFFICIAL BIO (Photo to come)

Also new CFO, Jim Murray

There's another important appointment at Mark IV, a new chief financial, officer, Jim Currie. Currie held top finance jobs at MDS SCIEX/MDS Analytical Technologies, a pharmaceuticals/biotech firm. Previous to that he was controller at GEAC Computer Corporation.

Currie has a solid Bachelor of Commerce degree (like your editor here) and several other management and accounting qualifications.

Chris Murray president is quoted: "Jim is a very accomplished executive with the strong financial, operational and strategic experience we need as we continue to grow our business into the future."

Capper for Mayor of Milton?

Capper tells us he's not sure whether he'll run for office at the city (Milton) or regional (Halton) level but he thinks there's a need for new thinking and new management in local government. He lives on a  rapidly developing western fringe of the greater Toronto metro area - about 45km (28 miles) from downtown Toronto and a straight shot along the H401 for 27km (17 miles) to Mark IV's office and factory in Mississauga or to Toronto Pearson Airport.

All around Milton single land use zonings wreak havoc, Capper says. Farmers sell their land to developers but lease it back for farming, and then development is forced into unsuitable stereotype "business parks."

Local "economic development" funds meanwhile are wasted on pursuit of dying industries such as automobiles.

He favors mixed-use zonings and government facilitating light manufacturing and creative R&D-based business.

The Kitchener Waterloo area, Capper says, is one with more enlightened local government. Further west again.

He's also a fan of Mississauga local government to the east where the mayor for 31 years has been Hazel McCallion, now 88, and still almost without rivals. McCallion came out of business, Kellogg company.

Capper says Mayor McCallion was a big supporter of the 407ETR tollroad.

NOTE: Martin Street, Milton is named after one Jasper Martin, a historic local figure in Milton. Jasper Martin was an Irish immigrant like Capper himself. Capper says his first name comes from a family surname, and he's working to see if he can find common family roots with Jasper, discovery of which could make him a shoo-in for mayor.

TOLLROADSnews 2009-05-29