With leadership experience in consulting firms and a keen understanding of success in both the public and private sectors, Ed Arundell brings to his clients 25 years of experience in general management, corporate communications, public sector operations, media, government and financial relations, crisis communications, health economics and policy analysis. He has led a multi-million dollar multinational consulting office and has been a senior executive both in Canada’s largest public sector ministries and in private global firms. He has directed integrated communications and public affairs campaigns in the private and public sectors, domestically and internationally.
Most recently as Vice Chairman of a national public relations company, Ed directed the rebuilding of the firm’s Ontario practice increasing its profile within the Toronto market. In 2002-2003 as Chief of Staff to Ontario’s Minister for Health and Long Term Care, Tony Clement, Ed was a senior executive in a $27 billion ministry – one of the largest public or private sector organizations in the country. He provided daily direction for the Government’s response to major issues like the Romanow Royal Commission, the West Nile Virus strategy, and the SARS crisis. He also managed the Minister’s “normal” transactions including setting hospital operating and capital budgets, health human resource planning, innovative health policy initiatives and Cabinet decision-making.
In the mid-90s, he established the Canadian (Montreal) office of a US-based, health-outcomes research firm, Technology Assessment Group (TAG) and published several health outcomes studies for clients. Ed also spent ten years in corporate public affairs, at Noranda Mines Ltd., Abitibi-Price Inc. and Massey Ferguson Ltd. As Director of External Affairs for Massey-Ferguson, he helped successfully reposition the company in a global corporate restructuring, changed its name to Varity Corporation and resolved the issue of government ownership in the firm.
He also has valuable experience in the public sector. He was Director of Communications for Ontario Premier Mike Harris (1996) and Chief of Staff to the Canadian Minister of National Health and Welfare and the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology (1990-1993).
Ed Arundell received a B.A. (Honours) in political science from Trent University. As a Commonwealth Scholar, he pursued graduate studies in political science at the University of Western Australia and in 1994 as a Sloan Fellow at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business he completed a Masters Degree in business. He has volunteered for a number of community agencies including the Ontario Advisory Council on Women’s Issues and was founding president of the Public Affairs Association of Canada.