Bruce Keating, the former head of a wholesale distribution company based in Corner Brook and Mount Pearl, is the new head of the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation.

Keating has been a board member at the NLC since April 2019, helping guide the corporation into the legalization and sale of cannabis.

He was selected by the independent appointments commission.

"I am delighted for this opportunity to lead the NLC forward in an important time," Keating said in a news release Thursday. "With new opportunities in our traditional alcohol business and our emerging recreational cannabis business, we will ensure our actions are underpinned with an unwavering commitment to acting in a socially responsible manner."

Keating will take over the top job at the NLC from Sharon Sparkes, who was hired on an interim basis in January 2018.

Sparkes stepped in after Steve Winter was let go by Finance Minister Tom Osborne, who oversees the Crown corporation. Winter was recently the subject of an auditor general report that laid blame at his feet for a controversial fine wine purchasing program.

With Keating now taking over as president and CEO, there will be an opening on the board of directors. Osborne's department is open to suggestions for a replacement.

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