President Jonathan S. Raymond, Ph.D., and the Trinity Western University Board of Governors are pleased to announce the hiring of Derek Dawson, MBA, as the new Senior Vice President of Business Affairs.
“Derek Dawson brings an abundance of experience and gifts to the role of Senior Vice-President with great promise of complementing a strong leadership team going forward,” said Raymond.
As a member of the President’s Senior Leadership Team and the University Cabinet, Dawson will play a central role in integrated planning towards achieving the institution’s strategic directions and priorities.
Dawson brings to the position a wealth of experience in business unit start-ups, strategic planning, change management, and customer engagement in both the private and not-for-profit sectors. For the past six years he served at Focus on the Family, Canada as the Managing Vice President of Development (’05 -’06) and then as the Senior Vice President of the organization (’06-’11).
At Focus, Dawson’s team leadership helped bring about the transformation of the organization to a recognized global partner and innovator. He successfully facilitated the planning and execution of their first capital campaign, realizing the vision of the organization and resulting in the construction of their flagship building and Canadian headquarters in Langley, BC. Dawson currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities (CCCC).
Dawson’s career began in the Canadian Air Force as an Air Navigator working in famine relief in Somalia, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. A graduate of the Master’s of Business Administration program at Wilfrid Laurier University, he continued on at the university as a lecturer in Business Communications and Organizational Behaviour in the School of Business and Economics. Concurrently, Dawson spent a number of years leading worldwide strategic business development for an operations management solutions provider to the commercial aviation industry.
“As I have dug in more to understand the roots and the heritage of Trinity Western University, I think it has unlimited and untapped potential,” said Dawson, “Going forward there are so many opportunities with the vision to make this the leading Christian University for the globe. I’m engaged with making sure that we can develop it by equipping the people who will lead its execution and seeing the vision become a reality.”
Dawson will work closely with President Raymond as he manages the financial aspects of the University’s operations. “Trinity Western University has an ambitious plan to make an eternal difference, and I am very excited about serving with the faculty, staff, alumni and broader TWU community,” said Dawson. “At this stage of my career I have developed a keen awareness of what my gifts are and where my interests lie. I love people, seeing their potential, and inspiring others.”