Venture Kamloops executive director is leaving
After three years at the helm of the City of Kamloops' economic-development arm, Dan Sulz is stepping down.
"I'm going to take some time and look at some further career opportunities for myself," the outgoing executive director of Venture Kamloops told KTW.
"It's been a great organization to work for."
Sulz, who was hired by Venture Kamloops in 2009 after a career in banking, wouldn't offer any hints about what those "career opportunities" might be.
"All I can say is I've got some irons in the fire," he said.
"I'm really, really excited about moving forward and I feel good about what we [Venture Kamloops] accomplished as a team."
Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar said Sulz got a lot done in his time heading Venture Kamloops.
"I think Dan's done a good job re-organizing Venture and getting it back on track," he said.
"He was always willing to chase down any lead."
Venture Kamloops is funded primarily by the City of Kamloops. Last year, taxpayers contributed $546,255 to its budget.
Sulz said the three main goals of the organization are to encourage business start-ups and entrepreneurialism, support existing businesses and attract new businesses and people to Kamloops.
"It's a really exciting job in the sense that it's always evolving," he said.
"One of the benefits Kamloops has is we have jobs available where people can live and work in a close proximity."
Sulz said he represented Venture Kamloops at a number of national and international job fairs and immigration tours.
One thing he kept hearing — in Canada and overseas — was that families are tired of being separated for weeks on end while one of the parents goes off to earn a paycheque.
"What these families are looking for is non-camp situations," he said.
"We look at Highland Valley Copper, New Gold and the other projects that may be in the works, and we have a lot of great opportunities here."
Sulz said he hopes to remain in the Tournament Capital after his time at Venture Kamloops is up.
He'll stay on as executive director until the role is filled by someone else.
"I gave them enough notice so they can find a new replacement," he said.
Sulz's three-year term was in marked contrast to previous Venture Kamloops CEOs, two of whom — M.J. Cousins and Gail Scott — were fired from the position, prompting the city to bring in Jeff Putnam in an interim basis until Sulz was hired.
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