Columbia Association (CA) has chosen Shawn MacInnes as their new President/CEO after a months-long search. MacInnes will take over the role beginning June 17.
MacInnes will take the reins from Dennis Mattey, who has been acting as Interim President/CEO for more than a year after the controversial departure of Lakey Boyd as CA President/CEO in January 2023.
“The Board of Directors welcomes Mr. MacInnes to Columbia and looks forward to working with him in service to the community,” said Eric Greenberg, CA Board Chair, in a statement. “The Board also thanks Dennis Mattey for stepping up and serving as Interim President/CEO over the past year.”
MacInnes has held a number of high-level leadership positions in municipal governments in Maryland and Massachusetts. His education background is in civil engineering and business administration and raises money every year for cancer research.
“I look forward to bringing my collaborative approach and passion for community service to Columbia to continue the mission of James Rouse and the entire Columbia community,” MacInnes said in a statement.
“We’re excited for Mr. MacInnes to join CA’s long-standing tradition of excellence and service,” said Monica McMellon-Ajayi, CA’s Director of Human Resources, Equity and Inclusion, in a statement. “We are confident that his experience and perspective will provide a meaningful path forward for CA. We also appreciate the time and effort of all of those involved in the process to ensure that CA remains a valued partner, employer and leader in this community.”
CA’s Board of Directors chose TransPro Executive Placement to aid in the search for candidates for the President/CEO position. They also consulted the Senior Leadership Team. Selecting and interviewing finalists in March, the CA Board of Directors decided on MacInnes in April.
Lakey Boyd held her position as CA President/CEO for less than 18 months of what was supposed to be a four-year tenure, resigning after months of acrimony and disputes with members of the Board of Directors. Boyd held she was being micromanaged while some members of the Board questioned her decision-making.
Boyd had many supporters, some on the Board and many among the community members. The organization and its operations are a bit of a morass for those not steeped in local Columbia politics. Boyd was making changes to attempt to reflect the diversity of Columbia residents and help navigate the city out of the pandemic economically, in addition to dealing with legal challenges facing some prominent organizations and spaces under her purview.
She challenged the Board when rumors circulated about her being removed from her position, asking them to clarify her job status. In response, the Board issued a list of demands that Boyd said, “renders me ineffective in being able to carry out my duties as President/CEO as they are detailed in my contract.”
When the Board ruled that she did not have the right to appeal her annual evaluation of her performance, which she said contained inaccuracies and no action items for improvement, she announced her resignation two months later in January 2023.
“I have concluded that I have no other choice but to ask the CA Board to transition me out of the Columbia Association,” she said.
