David Black - Chairman

David Black is Chairman and Founder of Black Press Group Ltd. He started our company when he invested in his first weekly, the Williams Lake Tribune, in 1975.

Today, Black Press is the largest private newspaper publisher in Canada.

David has also served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Black Press. As CEO and President, David expanded Black Press from one community newspaper in 1975 to a company that includes 75 titles in British Columbia, as well as papers in Alberta, Ohio, Sound Publishing in Washington State, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

David has served as President of the British Columbia and Yukon Community Newspaper Association, a director of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association, a Governor of the Canadian Newspaper Association, and as a Director of the American Press Institute.

David lives in Victoria, B.C., which is the site of our company's corporate office.

Rick O'Connor - President & Chief Executive Officer

Rick O’Connor is President and Chief Executive Officer of Black Press Group Ltd., responsible for the operations of Black Press in all regions; British Columbia, the Prairies, Central Web, Washington State, Ohio and Hawaii.

Rick previously held the positions of COO, COO BC, and President of MetroValley Newspapers, since joining Black Press Group in 1998.

Rick got his start in publishing in 1978 in Vanderhoof and in 1983 sold his company to Black Press. He helped Black Press launch Kamloops This Week in 1988 and has served as a publisher and group publisher for two other newspaper groups.

He is a former President of Suburban Newspapers of America, past Director of BCYCNA, past Chair of Peace Arch Hospital Foundation and is Chair of the Friends of UBC Softball. Mr. O'Connor was awarded the prestigious Dean Lesher Award for his contributions to the North American suburban newspaper industry in 2009, and holds a Silver Quill from CCNA.

Rick and his wife Pam have been heavily involved in the South Surrey - White Rock community for more than 20 years raising four children and participating in numerous community activities.

John Walker - Chief Financial Officer

John Walker is a Chartered Accountant with 40 years of business experience progressing from public accounting and consulting to a Controllership followed by Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Development roles.

He has experience working in Canada, the UK, Australia and the United States. He is a dual citizen of Canada and America. He is entrepreneurial and has worked in companies with as many as 23,000 employees. His industry sector experience has included manufacturing, materials, education, publishing and the media industry.

Mr. Walker is on the boards of most Black Press companies. He enjoys the nimble and decisive nature of the Black Press company culture. He has been very active in the acquisitions Black Press has successfully purchased, financed and integrated.

Mr. Walker is active on several volunteer boards and committees relating to skiing and sailing and is Treasurer and a Director of a charity.  He remains active in sports, particularly skiing and sailing.

John’s first company job was as a paper boy at age 13.

Frank Hanson - Vice-President, Finance

Frank Hanson is a Chartered Accountant and graduate of Simon Fraser University.

Mr. Hanson has been working for Black Press or its predecessor company Trinity Holdings since 1991, when he was hired as the group Controller.

Mr. Hanson's business career began in 1978 while articling with Price Waterhouse in Vancouver. After spending five years with PW, Frank held Controllership positions with the Vancouver Whitecaps and Waste Management, a Fortune 500 company.

Born and raised in New Westminster, Frank has resided in the Fraser Valley since 1985, raising two children with his wife Kathy.

Elizabeth Dutton - Vice-President, Digital

Elizabeth Dutton has been the Vice-President of Digital for Black Press Group Ltd. since joining our company in early 2011.

While being involved in the strategic direction of Digital Operations for Black Press, Elizabeth is primarily responsible for our online classified site UsedEverywhere.com

Elizabeth has worked at Amazon as a Senior Vendor Manager in the Books division. She has a B.Comm (Hon.) from Queen’s University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business in Dartmouth, New Hampshire.

She is married to Rodger and lives in Victoria, B.C.