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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
BBE Ltd. has named Heather Stewart, daughter of past owner Gordon Stewart, as the company's new president, following the retirement of popular expediting executive Gary Reid.

Heather Stewart, BBE Ltd.'s new president. - photo courtesy of BBE Ltd.

Stewart, 34, is returning to BBE after managing expediting for many projects across the North, most recently as freight forwarding manager for Newmont Mining Corp.

Working for BBE most of her life, Stewart said the company has evolved "quite a bit" over the years, and is adapting to the changing industry.

"Our business has changed dramatically over the past few years, and we've gotten into new markets," Stewart said. "It sort of evolved from running around town and doing local expediting, into more of a consolidated freight forwarding style logistics company."

Almost a quarter of BBE's business today is international freight forwarding, moving cargo all over world for customers.

"Of course, we still keep our Northern focus, but we have a real international arm as well," Stewart said. "There's more to what we do than just expediting."

Stewart said she is excited to take on the lead role from Reid, 60, who retired last December.

Reid became president of BBE in 2007, when Gordon Stewart sold BBE to NorTerra Inc.

Reid's career in the North began in Yellowknife in 1974, with Pacific Western Airlines. The Kimberley, B.C.-native developed great knowledge of the North, travelling across communities in the NWT and Nunavut with Pacific Western Airlines and later as vice-president of operations for NorTerra's Canadian North Airlines.

Throughout his career, Reid gained a reputation for building relationships wherever he went.

"People really like Gary," said Stewart, who has known Reid her whole life. "He's a very well respected person who treats people with respect, and I think people saw him as somebody you can trust and rely on. If he said what he was going to do, then it would be done."

Reid learned over his career that the key to succeeding in the North is enjoying people.

"The North is a wonderful place and you need people to help you in your job in all aspects--nobody could do it on their own," he said, adding he and his wife Charlene (Charlie) Reid—now both retired in B.C.-will miss all their friends and business associates in the North.

"I've had an extremely fun, exciting career," Reid said. "My enjoyment of my career was through the people of the North and the NorTerra Group of companies," he added, saying he felt "privileged and honoured" when he was named president of BBE.

Today, BBE has 115 employees, 40 on client sites, including 18 full-time at Newmont's Hope Bay gold project, and 22 across oil and gas sites for Shell Canada.

The expediting company is based in Yellowknife, Edmonton, Inuvik, Iqaluit, Ottawa, and Winnipeg.

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