EDMONTON – The founding president and CEO of Learning and Skills Television of Alberta, Dr. Ron Keast, retired from his post at the end of August, LTA owner CHUM Ltd. announced today.
Dr. Keast has led the company since it was incorporated in 1994 to purchase and privatize Alberta’s provincial educational television service, ACCESS. Over the last eleven years Access Media Group has expanded with the addition of national television services Canadian Learning Television, BookTelevision and CourtTV Canada, multimedia educational distribution division Distribution Access, and The Learning Annex Canada. Dr. Keast will have a continuing involvement as a member of the board of directors of LTA and a consultant to Access Media Group.
Ross Mayot, currently vice-president, administration and business affairs of Access Media Group, and one of the senior managers who have helped guide the development of LTA since it was incorporated in 1994, takes on the responsibility for the educational goals and objectives as well as the operating objectives of the learning related businesses, as vice president, learning services, for Access Media Group.
Mayot spent 17 years in various management roles at TVOntario prior to his involvement with Access Media Group. In this role he will report to the board of directors of LTA and to the senior vice-president, operations, CHUM Television.
CHUM has been the majority owner of LTA since it was incorporated in 1994. In February, 2005, CHUM acquired the outstanding minority shares in LTA and it was renamed Access Media Group. The operations of Access Media Group are currently being integrated with the new Citytv television facilities in downtown Edmonton with master control facilities in Calgary. The unique educational services peculiar to ACCESS Television, as Alberta’s provincial educational television service, and Canadian Learning Television, as Canada’s first and only national educational television service, will be further strengthened by this sharing of facilities and expertise, says the company.
