Stuart Cunningham

Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Stuart Cunningham holds a bachelor of law degree, graduating with honours from the National University of Ireland – Galway. Stuart put his learning into practice with Matheson, Ormsby and Prentice, one of Ireland’s top five legal firms, and obtained articling experience in the corporate and probate law divisions.

Stuart moved to Canada in 2006. Upon switching continents, Stuart also switched career direction, taking a role as a labour relations consultant with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) in 2008 before being promoted to senior level consultant in 2010. During this time, Stuart led the complicated renegotiation of a number of collective agreements to conclusion, including SEIU-West, RWDSU and later HSAS. Stuart was also responsible for the oversight and co-ordination of essential services negotiations for a number of health regions during this time.

In 2011, Stuart joined the executive team at the Five Hills Health Region (FHHR) as vice-president, human resources. During his six years with the FHHR, Stuart led or was involved in a number of high-profile transformative initiatives, including the development of a number of strategies related to the construction of and move to the new Dr. F. H. Wigmore Regional Hospital in Moose Jaw. This included the development of staff and physician-facing programs related to change management, communications, labour relations, staffing, organizational development and safety/orientation.

During this time, Stuart also graduated successfully from the JBA Lean Leader program, investing over 180 hours from June 2013 to June 2014. This learning was applied by leading 12 process redesign or improvement events in advance of the move to the new hospital. This education sparked a keen personal interest in the role of leadership in driving a culture of excellence and a passion for the people side of continuous process improvement.

From 2015 to 2016, Stuart served as a member of the board of trustees for the Saskatchewan Healthcare Employees Pension Plan (SHEPP), gaining valuable governance experience and insight into the role of the board in the administration of the plan.

Stuart joined the Saskatchewan WCB in February 2017 as vice-president, human resources and communications to assist the WCB in its own improvement journey, assuming responsibility for the WCB’s continuous improvement programs and appeals department in June 2019.

In May 2021, Stuart assumed the role of vice-president, Transformation Program. This new, temporary position oversees the complex planning, scheduling and execution of the various projects that the WCB will undertake under the Business Transformation Program over the coming five to seven years. The temporary nature of this role means that it will not exist beyond the Business Transformation program.