Prime Minister Stephen Harper stands next to Robert Hatheway at Capital Airways in Fredericton. (Facebook)

Premier David Alward has appointed Robert Hatheway, a Tory insider, as the new chairman of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation.

Hatheway, who considered a Tory leadership bid in 2008 and then lost a nomination fight in a Fredericton-area riding, was appointed to the innovation foundation on Monday.

"Recognized as a leader and innovator in his chosen profession of orthodontics, he has followed his passion for entrepreneurship and built a diverse group of companies that have become a mainstay of the Fredericton and New Brunswick business community," Alward said in a statement. Hatheway is a Fredericton orthodontist and owns several companies, including Capital Airways.

Hatheway has also been involved with organizations such as the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce and the New Brunswick Association for Community Living.

The Alward Tories have been criticized for several appointments of party insiders since being elected last fall.

For instance, Robert MacLeod, who ran against Alward for the 2008 Tory leadership, has been appointed as the president of Invest NB, a new economic development organization agency created in January.

Daniel Allain, who was one of Alward's campaign co-chairmen, was named as the president of NB Liquor shortly after the Tories formed the government.

The innovation foundation was set up by the Bernard Lord government in 2002 as an organization to work with the private sector to finance new business opportunities.