President & General Counsel
In addition to Ian's internal IMC management roles as President and General Legal Counsel, Ian has 30 years of experience providing services to an array of private and public clients, with a focus on the natural resources and manufacturing industries. Prior to founding IMC in 1989, Ian articled for the law firm Parlee McLaws, worked in the acquisitions department of Varity Corporation and was Executive Assistant to the Alberta Minister of Forestry, Lands and Wildlife. He has a unique combination of expertise and experience in the areas of project management, commercial negotiations, finance, law and government. His work has included providing clients with active hands-on project management of large greenfield projects as well as transition management services for large private and public sector clients during restructurings or periods of change.
Controller
Rutul is a recently minted CPA after completing his CFE with honours in 2019. He is a BCom. graduate, with an accounting major, from the University of Alberta. He has worked with the Finance Operations team in the Government of Alberta. He also has experience as a client solutions analyst in Commercial Banking with Scotiabank, working with companies of all sizes in various industries.
Manager, Operations
Nathan has a political science degree from the University of Alberta and has worked in both Indigenous consultation and government relations for AltaLink. Nathan's work supports IMC clients in a variety of ways including, research, change management, regulatory work, stakeholder relations, government relations and Indigenous consultation.
Manager of Marketing
Jeanie studied at the University of Alberta with a major in Political Science before switching to Earth and Atmospheric Sciences where she studied Paleontology. She spent the past decade working with an SEO company specializing in administration and marketing and has worked with organizations such as the AUMA and Worker's Compensation Board. Jeanie loves spending her free time with her two kids, building Lego and painting.
Executive Assistant
Marge was born and raised in Montreal in La Belle Province. In Quebec she worked in banking and publishing before moving to Kingston, Ontario (go Golden Gaels!) where she worked for chartered accountants. Marge moved to Edmonton in the mid-70s and considers Alberta to be a wonderful Province with the exception of the lack of a good smoked meat sandwich!! In Edmonton, she worked in two legal positions before landing her "dream job" as Judicial Assistant to the Justices of the Court of Queen's Bench. She remained with the Justices for the next 30 years until her "retirement".
Research
Don was born and has lived most of his life in Edmonton. A huge Edmonton Oilers fan and loves watching Jeopardy. Also enjoys watching the Edmonton Eskimos and Curling. He is interested in reading about Canadian history and watching documentaries (historical) on TV. Don really enjoys his time at IMC and looks forward to traveling more.
Chris, born and raised in Edmonton, AB. Now living in Fort Saskatchewan with his wife and two boys. Chris has 15 years of supervisory and management experience. Also experience in personal insurance and investments. Dealing with project management, delegation and organizational planning. Specializing in problem solving, proposals and time management.
Eric has substantial experience with developing and deploying algorithmic trading software. His primary area of expertise has been within the emerging area of cryptocurrency algorithmic trading, although his company, Halgo Integrated Trading Systems (HITS), has also developed projects with foreign exchange and traditional equities. Prior to his time with HITS, Eric had extensive knowledge with energy policy and broad natural resource policy, having specialized on the subject while attaining a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Alberta. Aside from his academic and more recent software development experience, Eric has a diverse background ranging from having established strong client relations, managing large projects and working alongside government and industry through public engagement projects.
Francis holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Polytechnique of Montreal and is also a professional pilot. He has spent the last 20 years in the aerospace industry working for Thales Aerospace, CAE training and simulation, STELIA Aerospace (a subsidiary of Airbus SAS) and NSE Automatech. Before joining IMC, Francis worked as the General Manager for Centre Technologique en Aérospatiale where he was leading the global operations, service proposal and R & D strategic planning of an aerospace research center (over 75 researchers, professional technicians and trainees). He was lately involved in research projects using drones and UAV for the transportation of materials in remote areas. His experience includes aerospace, air transport operations and safety.
After receiving Engineering and MBA degrees from the University of Alberta, Bob spent the next 37 years with ATCO, including acting as Vice President of Government Affairs, Communications, and Corporate Initiatives. His experience included diverse technical and business areas, with a focus on major facilities planning, strategic business planning, regulatory proceedings, and project economic evaluation. A key area of expertise was working closely with external parties to arrive at mutually agreeable solutions. Bob is experienced at developing key relationships and executing advocacy plans in the context of new government policy and regulations, involving industry and government stakeholders.
James has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry with particular expertise in Saskatchewan and Alberta. He was previously General Manager for North Canadian Oil (NCO) in its Regina office where primary responsibilities included government relations and accompanying royalty issues as well as natural gas marketing. Later he was Vice President, Operations for Lateral Vector Resources, a publicly traded oil and gas company based in Regina. He has also been involved with start-ups and acquisitions in the energy industry in Saskatchewan. Over the last decade he has consulted on oil and gas related issues providing business development, government relations and regulatory support services. He also sits on the boards of several companies, including SaskEnergy, Kineticor Resource Corporation and Keystone Royalty Corporation.
Bill Bewick is an Edmonton-based political consultant and public policy analyst who served as the Wildrose Official Opposition Director of Policy at the Alberta Legislature from 2010-2017, and was the Director of Policy for the UCP Caucus in 2022-23. He led the development of election platforms in 2012, 2015, and the UCP’s winning platform in 2023. With Fairness Alberta, he was the de-facto spokesperson for the Equalization referendum’s Yes campaign in 2021, and has published numerous nation-wide columns. He has a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Alberta and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. He has been an American Politics Instructor at Athabasca University since 2011.
Allan has over thirty years of experience in the telecommunications industry as a communications engineer, project manager, trainer, and consultant. During the course of his career, Allan has travelled worldwide teaching and consulting for major telecommunication companies including: Nortel, Cisco, Bell Labs, Bellcore, SaskTel, TELUS, and Bell Canada. For the past eight years, Allan’s primary focus has been working with Alberta rural municipalities to develop and implement rural communication implementation plans, which are then used to obtain capital infrastructure funds from the Federal and Provincial Governments. He also has vast expertise in the Internet of Things and has completed projects which are related to the installation and setup of systems for remote monitoring of oil field sites. Allan is currently working as the project manager in the construction of five utility towers in two Counties—two of the five sites include the planning, design, and construction of a fibre backhaul to either a SuperNet PoP or a TELUS central office.
Robert has over three decades of consulting experience providing communications services with technical competencies in the fields of energy, forestry and the environment. He has conducted work for the National Energy Board (NEB), Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries, Canadian Centre for Energy Information, Petroleum Communication Foundation, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, and many other organizations. He specializes in writing, research, editing, design consulting, and photography; his experience also includes speech-writing, broadcasting, film and video production, interviewing, and web content development. Robert is well versed in communicating technical subject matter to both technical and non-technical audiences, and he has participated in many research-intensive, large scale projects.
Frank Bourree is a Fellow of the Canadian Certified Management Consultants Institute. Until January 2020 Frank was the CEO and owner of Chemistry Consulting Group Inc. which operated 9 offices in BC with 150 staff. Chemistry Consulting along with its subsidiary company GT Hiring Solutions provided Business and Human Resource Services including multi-year contracts with the BC Government for WorkBC Employment Centres on Vancouver Island and the BC Lower Mainland for over 25 years. Chemistry Consulting Group and it’s sister company GT Hiring Solutions has won BC Business Magazines “Best Companies to Work For” five years in a row. For 12 years Mr. Bourree was a Partner and National Tourism Consulting Director for Grant Thornton LLP Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants. Prior to entering the consulting business, Mr. Bourree was the BC regional manager for Controlled Foods International (Earls) for 15 years and then for 10 years an owned and operated 10 restaurants. Frank specializes in Strategic Planning and Business advisory services and human resource and recruitment services. With direct experience in most industry sectors Frank has a wealth of experience to assist any business or non-profit strategic advice. Active in his community, Mr. Bourree is the Chair of the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP), Past chair of Our Place Community Advisory Board and The Coalition to End Homelessness. Frank is past chair for the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce and in 2019 was awarded the Chambers First Award of Distinction for community service. He is a Leadership speaker for the United Way, a Lifetime Member of Tourism Victoria the Treasurer of the Victoria Spirit committee, the Past President of Community Living Victoria Foundation and a former board member of Tourism BC (Crown Corp.). Mr. Bourree is a Member of the Order of St John and a Fellow of Canadian Certified Management Consultants (FCMC). Frank and his wife Jane enjoy a blended family with 7 children all over 19 and five grandchildren and are enjoying the empty nest lifestyle in Victoria B.C.
Carla is a professional engineer with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and a Master of Science in Bioresource and Food Engineering from the University of Alberta. She has over 20 years of experience in project management, process development and equipment design in pilot plants for the development of agriculture-based product development, commercial ethanol and renewable fuels. Carla has contributed to research in pet food, biodegradable plastics and renewable chemical production.
Angus Brotherhood has over 40 years of experience in junior and independent oil and gas companies. He was the Executive Vice President of Novalta Resources, where he was instrumental in managing the operations. Later, he co‐founded Glencoe Resources, where he was the President of the company. Angus is a Chartered Accountant and has held numerous professional designations in the industry. He has also held numerous volunteer positions both in industry and the community.
Gerald has extensive experience in the oil industry with a diversified background linking oil sands production, bitumen upgrading, oil refining and technology development to the Alberta oil sands market. Gerald was directly involved with partial upgrading technology development, leading to patents for the MEG HI-Q process. Currently, he is treasurer and past president of the Canadian Crude Quality Technical Association, past president of the Canadian Heavy Oil Association, and has worked as an independent oil sands industry processing consultant to government and industry.
Chemical process engineer with 30 years of material processing experience for pulp, paper, fibreboard, composites, and chemical manufacturing industries. Have been involved in research, plant design, startup, scale-up, optimization and commercial operations in Canada and Korea. Created and for 15 years led an R&D program at the Alberta Research Council (now InnoTech Alberta) that developed new products, processes and technologies for agricultural materials. Have a strong global network of researchers and industry professionals for agrifibre processing and products. Have owned a private consultancy since 2014 specializing in process design and development. Sessional instructor at the University of Alberta in 4th year Chemical Engineering (Design I and II).
Phil joins IMC as a veteran in the energy industry with over 37 years of experience. He has held various board of director positions and has a vast array of skills in coordinating board memberships, hiring management and establishing start-up companies in the energy sector. Over his tenure in the industry, he has successfully raised over $230 million in equity based on innovative geological concepts. Phil has implemented cutting edge drilling designs in regions like the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) and east Texas, specializing in deep basin reservoirs. Phil has been involved in the acquisition, exploration and drilling of over 100 million barrels of oil equivalent (Boe) in reserves and has contributed to significant discoveries in the WCSB, Trinidad and Texas
Colin has extensive background in and knowledge of the oil industry from a 30 year career at Petro-Canada. He has worked in a variety of planning, marketing and development roles in the areas of refining and marketing, upstream production, and corporate groups. Colin led the strategic, planning, marketing and commercial components of Petro-Canada’s oil sands strategy, including negotiating numerous large contracts and strategic transactions. He has been heavily involved in the development and economic analysis of upgrading strategies for the Edmonton refinery, the Fort Hills mining and upgrading plan, major processing arrangements, and market assessments for oil sands production.
Jason is a Management Consultant, Senior Advisor, and former Cabinet Minister in Alberta. With extensive experience in both public and private sectors, he specializes in health care and transportation. As an elected official, Jason transformed Alberta's health-care system, improved access to care, and managed costs through major projects like the Continuing Care Transformation and the Health Workforce Strategy. He spent nearly 20 years in the transportation sector, leading labour strategy, collective bargaining, marketing and sales strategy, commercial contract negotiation, and infrastructure development. He also taught business courses at the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge.
Charles has over 25 years of experience in the retail sector. He was the COO of the United Farmers of Alberta and a senior executive with Kmart Canada and Zellers. He was also the International President of Wholesale Sports and Interim President of Sportsman's Warehouse, both of which are large international retail chains. He has expertise and a strong track record of creating shareholder value through marketing prowess and operational excellence. He was responsible for significant increase in revenue and earnings for a large retail chain, successfully opened many new store locations, and managed and financed acquisitions. In addition, he has demonstrated skills in identifying opportunities, negotiating transactions, directing due diligence and managing operations. Charles held Board positions with large international organizations such as Universal Co-op and Wholesale Sports.
Doug is an accomplished executive with over 30 years of strategic and operational leadership, specializing in both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, particularly within healthcare. Doug has proven expertise across all areas of corporate leadership, including finance, business development, HR administration, government and investor relations, technology development, regulatory affairs, and governance. Notably, Doug led the development of Alberta’s first Primary Care Network, transforming it from a start-up into a well-established health services organization serving approximately 70,000 clients annually.
Rod has extensive experience in the electricity sector in Alberta. As President and CEO of EnCana Power and Processing, Rod was actively involved in a broad range of project development, commercial, operational, regulatory and public policy services. Rod has a successful track record in development and construction of power plants, management of ongoing operations, management of the procurement of load services, and regulatory interventions. Rod’s experience spans into British Columbia as he has been actively involved with the electrification of the Cabin Gas Plant generation facility, as well as distribution and transmission development in the Dawson Creek area. He participated in the study looking at electrical alternatives for the Kitimat LNG project, provided feedback on the Dawson Chetwynd Area Transmission (DCAT) project and has participated in the Integrated Resource Plan for BC Hydro.
Ryan has over 25 years of management experience in the Oil & Gas sector across multiple disciplines of construction, drilling, completions, production, operations, and business development. He is a Certified Engineering Technologist that also holds a Red Seal Endorsement for Drilling, a Project Management Professional designation, as well as a Master's of Business Administration from the University of Calgary. He is actively involved with multiple Oil & Gas operators and service providers, and strives to create value by taking on any challenge and finding the best solution, through a dedicated and determined hands-on approach.
David has extensive business and government experience. David founded the 25 person accounting firm Dorward & Company in the mid ‘90’s, with offices in Edmonton and Calgary. Previous to that he worked with a national trust company in the controller and treasury areas. He was elected in 2012 in Edmonton-Gold Bar as a MLA and served in numerous positions in the government, including as the Associate Minister of Aboriginal Relations. David has made extensive community contributions, including leading the successful efforts to raise funds to build the Saville Community Sports Centre (GO Centre) at the U of A South Campus. The building was a vision of David’s that grew during his time of coaching basketball for 12 years.
Duncan has extensive experience and expertise in the fields of corporate sustainable development and regulatory and stakeholder relations. He has over 20 years of domestic and international experience in business and project development in the resource and environmental sectors, including forest products, energy (independent power), and primary metals (aluminum). Duncan has advised private and public sector clients, including the B.C. Ministry of Forests, regarding biomass-energy projects and related land use and environmental issues. He has experience with forest management operations and major projects with critical economic ties to First Nations and other ENGO stakeholders. He was an advisor for Iisaak Forest Resources, a Weyerhauser/First Nations joint venture developing a sustainable forest management strategy for Clayoquot Sound.
Joe has 45 years of experience in the mining industry, particularly related to the sand, gravel and concrete business through-out western Canada and the Pacific northwest region of the US. During his tenure, Joe has gained experience in all aspects of the industry including; identifying market potential and establishing business case, source identification, environmental compliance, permitting and operation development and commencement. He also conducted process improvement initiatives with established aggregate and concrete businesses throughout the region. Joe served on the Board of the Canadian Ready–Mix Concrete Association and served a term as president of the Alberta Ready-Mix Concrete Association. Through his tenure Joe has established operations and joint ventures on or near industrial sites in both Alberta and BC which included several First Nations consultations in the Wood Buffalo Region. Joe enjoys working in a participative management environment and is proud to have been involved in developing a positive Safety Culture with his various operations over the years.
Len is a chemical engineer by university training. He was involved in oil sands process technology development and related refinery process designs over a large part of his 25-year Shell Canada career. In his 26 years of consulting under LENEF Consulting he has continued to contribute to upgrading technology assessment and development, including leadership of the 2004 Oil Sands Technology Roadmap initiative, as well as upgrading projects. Len has also contributed to many oil sands market-expansion projects by specific companies, federal and provincial government bodies. This work has including economic and emission assessments.
Marty has spent his entire life in media - with over 52 years as Program Director or VP/GM of top radio stations in Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary. Currently he is 'semi retired' and operates a consulting company called RADIOWISE INC. which specializes in media; social media; and marketing. Marty also does a great deal of work in public service including Jerry Forbes Centre; Santas Anonymous, the Edmonton Singing Christmas Tree; Crescendo, and the John Cameron Changing Lives Foundation. Marty was proudly awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Community service category.
As a highly engaged business leader with over 35 years of progressive experience in Business Development, Executive Coaching, Mergers and Acquisition and Corporate Finance. A results-oriented professional with extensive experience instituting and overseeing a full scope of client-based initiatives. Neil is a dynamic communicator and negotiator, with expertise in initiating and maintaining beneficial relationships with Client's and centre of influence partners. Neil is a certified networker with extensive contacts.
Steve Gilliland is the founder, President and CEO of Federal Power Company, LLC, an independent power development and management organization. During his career, Mr. Gilliland has overseen the development, strategic direction and acquisition and divestiture of power generation and energy assets totaling more than $15 billion. Mr. Gilliland has held executive positions with Duke Energy, Synenco Energy, CRSS Capital, Inc., Transco Power Company and Proler International Corp. Mr. Gilliland received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard University.
Dr. Good grew up in Ontario, obtained a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Ottawa in 1986 and worked as a faculty member at the University of Alberta for 28 years, initially in the Department of Genetics. His main research interests are in the genetics of crop improvement, and the molecular biology of nutrient use efficiency in crop plants. He was the developer of one of the key technologies being evaluated to improve nitrogen use efficiency in plants and was the founder and CSO of AgriGenomics Inc. He was a full professor at the University of Alberta, now in retirement, and is also a full time farmer, with growing interests in apple and fruit breeding and horticulture.
Anne has worked with over 60 Indigenous groups across Canada since 2005. She led stakeholder engagement planning and execution for conventional and unconventional oil and gas, pipelines, facilities, refining, and renewable energy projects at Petro-Canada and Suncor. In addition, Anne’s work has resulted in the creation of a common values-based approach to Indigenous business development and workforce development in Suncor’s upstream, downstream, and renewable energy businesses across Canada. Anne has a Master of Arts in Corporate-Aboriginal Relations and is a Certified Public Participation Professional (CP3) through the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2). Her research and practice have identified key criteria for effective Indigenous-corporate collaboration, based on the evolution of Suncor’s approach to Indigenous engagement in the oil sands.
Bruce is a business leader with an exceptional breadth and depth of experience principally in power, pipeline and midstream infrastructure ownership and operatorship, both internationally and within North America. He has considerable expertise in project development, commercial and regulatory matters. Bruce held significant leadership positions with Enbridge Inc. and TransCanada Energy and has extensive governance and delegation of authority experience gained from his service on the Canadian and U.S. Boards of Directors of the Aux Sable group of companies, as well as the Boards of Directors of the Alliance Pipeline group of companies and of the Vector Pipeline group of companies. He also has extensive consulting experience across a wide range of natural resource sectors and issues, having worked for IMC and its clients in the 2005 to 2011 timeframe. Bruce, a Cornell graduate, is an engineer by education.
Dr. Hocking has had a diverse career in solving complex problems through engineering analysis and advanced simulation. His experience includes crude valuation studies, pipeline capacity studies, crude oil assay analysis, refinery optimization and complexity analysis, upgrader yield prediction and well-to-wheels GHG analysis for oil and gas. He is also an expert in multiphase flow, fluid characterization and steady-state and transient simulation. He has held key technology roles at Hyprotech, Aspentech, KBC and Computer Modeling Group (CMG). Additionally, Dr. Hocking has consulted for MEG Energy, HTRI, Honeywell, Mosimtec and Neotec. Dr. Hocking is the co-author of 17 patents in the heavy oil upgrading industry and holds a Bachelor in Engineering and PhD in Chemical Engineering both from the University of Adelaide.
Elliot has extensive experience in the resource sector both as a management consultant and a senior executive. As a consultant at McKinsey & Company, he worked on operational and strategic projects with more than 50 mines, mineral processing facilities, and oil & gas installations around the world. He was ultimately elected a Partner in McKinsey's Denver office. Following this, Elliot was Vice-President Projects at Dominion Diamond Corporation in northern Canada. At Dominion, he had executive responsibility for business development, major capital projects (including information technology and new technology introductions), regulatory and government relations, and indigenous and stakeholder relations.
Ahmed Idriss is a leader in Environmental and Climate Policy, known for influencing and leading Climate and Clean Energy policies that pave the way for a sustainable future. He has held leadership roles in industry and industry associations for 20 years where he has contributed to the development of climate change and air quality management strategies, analysis of climate change and air quality policies, and worked with diverse stakeholders to develop climate change and air quality policies. Dr. Idriss has a deep understanding of climate change, sustainability and air policies in both Canada and the United States.
Eddy Isaacs is the former CEO of Alberta Innovates – Energy & Environment Solutions and a Strategic Advisor to the University of Alberta, Faculty of Engineering. Eddy has spent his career promoting innovation in energy and environment across Canada and in forging partnerships between industry, government and academia. In 2014, he received the ASTECH Foundation’s award for his outstanding contribution to the Alberta science and technology community. Eddy has served as co-Chair of the Energy Technology Working Group of the Canadian Council of Energy Ministers. He is regularly called upon to provide expert opinion and insight into Alberta’s future in energy and environment.
Peter is an accomplished executive and senior manager with a passion for integrating technical, economic, regulatory, social, and environmental aspects of project development for more than 40 years. His focus has been in the strategy and navigation of regulatory approvals for a broad range of infrastructure and land development initiatives including energy, mining, water management, and transportation. He is intimately familiar with the applicable municipal, provincial and federal processes and their application. He works closely with corporate leadership, project teams, proponents, regulators, and local communities in urban, rural and frontier settings, domestically and internationally.
Michael is an Emmy® award-winning filmmaker and network storytelling consultant in both the fiction and non-fiction genres. As a producer, writer and director, his films have earned him more than 80 international, national and regional awards and he is the only filmmaker in history to be granted access inside a classified U.S. Department of Defense weapons competition. “Battle of the X-Planes” earned Michael his first Emmy® for best long form news and current affairs documentary. Michael helped launch the acclaimed science show “Daily Planet” for the Discovery Channel and negotiated access to NASA, Russian and European space agencies to tell the story of the people working on the first human mission to Mars. Michael has been a judge for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emmys® since 2010. In 2013, his feature-length theatrical documentary, “Unclaimed”, opened to international acclaim and was long-listed for an Oscar®. Michael is the Chair of the of the Alberta Media Industries Association and is a member of the Canadian Media Producers Association, the Giant Screen Association and the Producers Guild of America.
Neil brings a deep and varied background with 20 years of operational, customer service and sales management experience in the financial services sector and 20 years of senor level industry development leadership. Neil was also active in a business development role, expanding their membership base through direct calling and hosting of industry development events. He played a leading role initiating and leading the government advocacy program in Alberta and Saskatchewan for the steel construction industry, connecting their members with senior level Ministry staff and Cabinet Ministers. Through his work as an industry development professional, Neil has worked closely with many industry leaders and gained important insights into what is required to build and sustain a successful business. Neil has strong networking and relationship building skills.
Stephens 34 years of energy sector experience includes business development, environmental technology advancement and establishing creative new collaboration groups. He spent 10 years with Shell Canada, and time in Venture Capital and oilfield services businesses. During his 22 years at Suncor Energy, Stephen was directly involved in GHG abatement, CCS technology and other sustainability efforts. He led the company into founding the Carbon Capture Project which from 2000 to 2012 invested over $70M in research on CO2 capture and storage technologies. He led teams to respond to the Alberta Specified Gas Emitters Regulation of 2007 and establish a company wide Energy Audit approach for four refineries and 2 o3 oil sands plants. Stephen was instrumental in the set up and leadership of the Integrated CO2 Network from 2006-2013 acting as Chair for this 18 company ICO2N consortium. This included leadership of Provincial and Federal Government education and advocacy on CCS. He participated in the CCS Development Council and the Regulatory Framework Assessment teams that the Government of Alberta consulted for its preparation of the $2B in funding for the CCS projects. Stephen was seconded by Suncor to the setup and launch of COSIA for a year in 2011, and remained on the Shareholders Steering Committee of COSIA until 2018 where he led the establishment of the GHG priority area. He also used his investment experience to lead Suncor into direct equity investing in outside companies and the EVOK Innovations venture fund as Suncor began to focus more on renewable energy and technology investment.
Jason Kearns is an experienced commercial leader in the global energy, infrastructure, petrochemical and LNG sectors. Mr. Kearns has led over $10B USD of acquisition, divestiture, and development initiatives, from Origination through to Close and Financing. He has extensive experience managing cross-organization M&A and commercial activities from inception to operations. Mr. Kearns is recognized for my ability to leverage data to solve complex and unstructured problems, leading to high quality actionable opportunities. He holds an MBA from Queen’s University, received his bachelor’s degree from Athabasca University and earned a Diploma in Chemistry from SAIT.
Mr. Kemp is a chemical engineer (B.S Ch. E and M.S. Ch. E.) with 42 years’ experience providing engineering and technical services to domestic and international refining, petrochemical and oil production companies. His career covers the full range of activities in engineering development, design and project execution, starting with UOP where his developmental work on fluid cat crackers (FCC) led to two patents that are the basis for UOP’s VSS reactor internals. After working in Technical Services at UOP and earning an M.S. degree in chemical engineering, he moved to Houston where applying his technical service and unit operating experience to his engineering design work resulted in safe, robust and reliable units. He has studied, revamped or designed many of the units found in a refinery or petrochemical plant, from crude/vacuum distillation on the front-end, hydrotreating, hydrocracking and gasoline and aromatics production in the middle, to sulfur processing, utilities and off sites on the back. (After all, a refinery is just feed-prep for the SRU.) Petrochemical unit experience includes BTX, PETE and linear alpha olefins production and purification, and ethylene oxide production using both air and oxygen. Working on one chlor-alkali plant design for chlorine production was enough to convince him to stick to hydrocarbons. He has worked in refineries North and South America, Africa and the Middle East, Indonesia and Europe. His process engineering experience and creative mind-set, combined with innovative project management and construction execution, made returning two fire damaged refineries to production in record time both more fun and less expensive than the traditional approach. He has learned that it is possible to reduce the time and cost of building a process unit without sacrificing safety, reliability or quality.
John has over 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors. He served in both the Federal and Alberta Governments in the areas of land resource, sustainable agricultural systems and agro-environment. Dr. Keng brings unique expertise in government-industry relations, international business development and cross-cultural negotiations.
Trevor is an expert in his field with over 27 years of experience across the agricultural sector. His work has have involved integrating crop agronomic practices with value added food, feed and industrial processing to end markets. As a technical crop specialist in Stony Plain for the Government of Alberta, Trevor was actively involved in the growth of several new agricultural sectors including the pulse industry (peas, beans, lentils), canola, conservation tillage, flax and hemp. This activity included the design, implementation, and management of agronomy trials targeted at crop optimization for commercial applications as well as educating producers on market needs. In the private sector, Trevor spearheaded the development of new products and managed the sales and marketing for Synermulch Erosion Control products. These products were used in the mining, oilfield, and construction sectors and were manufactured from flax, hemp, and wood fibers. Due to Trevor’s initiative, Synermulch expanded from its base as a Western Canadian company to a company with a presence across North and South America. This process involved gathering market intelligence, cost and logistical analysis, sales strategy development, and distributor negotiations.
Mel Knight is a successful businessman and politician. Over 45 years, he built and ran Knight Measurement, a very successful business in process control services and facilities management. He later became an elected official and served in the Alberta Cabinet as a Minister of Energy and Minister of Sustainable Resource Development. He was involved in many policy issues related to the oil and gas, oil sands, technology, renewable energy, electricity, forestry and environmental sectors, including developing long-term strategies for the energy and forestry sectors.
Fauzia Lalani is a dynamic business and community leader with a wealth of experience in diverse industries. She most recently led joint ventures, commercial and strategic / production planning at Suncor Energy Inc., Canada’s largest Oil and Gas company. Prior to her tenure at Suncor, she held the position of Vice President in the Technology and Operations division at TELUS, the second largest telecommunications company in Canada, where she spearheaded the end-to-end service fulfillment team for over 10.5 million customers. Before her time at TELUS, Lalani served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Aquila Canada, a Venture 100 energy company based in Calgary. Her career journey also includes various leadership and management roles at Dow Chemical, Alberta Treasury, and TransAlta Corporation, encompassing diverse areas such as EPC, operations, project management, retail, sales, and marketing.
Karen Leibovici is a highly accomplished leader with a strong track record in various roles. She has served as the President and Board Member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, where she played a key role in negotiating a significant infrastructure plan with the federal government. Her experience also includes serving as a Councillor in the City of Edmonton, where she led initiatives such as the Transforming Edmonton Initiative and Affordable Housing Initiative. In addition, she has been involved in provincial politics as an MLA in the Alberta Legislature. Her extensive experience also extends to various board memberships, consulting, and executive director roles. Karen holds a Masters of Social Work from McGill University and has completed the Directors Education Program at the Institute of Corporate Directors. In 2023, she was honoured with the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal, and an Edmonton park was named after her. Karen is currently a board member on the Canada Energy Regulator. Her remarkable contributions and leadership have left a lasting impact on the community and beyond.
Dan held senior management positions with Canfor, Slocan and Weldwood where he gained extensive experience in solid wood facilities, woodlands operations, international marketing, sales, distribution and logistics. Dan had senior responsibility for the construction of three large sawmill projects. He is also experienced in the areas of remanufacturing, tree seedling and plantation sectors.
Honourable A. Anne McLellan, P.C., O.C., A.O.E. served four terms as the Liberal MP for Edmonton Centre, during which she was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Minister of Health, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and Minister of Natural Resources. In May 2015 Ms. McLellan became Dalhousie University’s seventh chancellor, a position she held until May 2020. Ms. McLellan serves on the board of Invest Alberta Corporation as vice-chair. Among her many community commitments, she is chair of the board of the TELUS Edmonton Community Board. She also serves on the boards of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and the Institute of Corporate Directors. Ms. McLellan is Co-Chair of the Coalition for a Better Future, a diverse group of over 140 organizations working together to focus on sustainable, inclusive economic growth. In 2022, Ms. McLellan was appointed Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel for the 41 Combat Engineer Regiment (41 CER), a Reserve unit of the 41 Canadian Brigade-Group (41 CBG). From 1980 – 1992 she was a professor in the University of Alberta's Faculty of Law and served as both Associate Dean (1985 – 1987) and Acting Dean (1991 – 1992) of the Faculty. Ms. McLellan holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Law degree from Dalhousie University and a Master of Laws degree from King's College, University of London.
Previously Managing Partner, Edmonton and former Head of the National Tax Practice at Dentons Canada LLP, Carman is now Senior Counsel in the Edmonton Office. Carman's law practice combines tax planning and litigation expertise with strategic advice to Boards and executives of corporations and non-profit organizations. This includes matters such as First Nation enterprises, cross-border investment into and from Canada, private and public transactions, structures and taxation issues, acquisitions, divestitures, reorganizations, transfer pricing and withholding taxes. He is also an experienced director and have chaired a number of corporate and non-profit boards. He currently serves as Chair of the Bee Clean (West) Group of Companies, as well as being a director on the Board of the Edmonton Regional Airports Authority. Previous positions in include past Chair of the Edmonton Screen Industries Office, director of Bitcoin Well, as well as on the boards of several private companies
Chowdary is an entrepreneur and management professional with 15+ years of experience in implementing customer facing IT and operational technology systems. He has led various large-scale projects ($400M+) and ran the global sales activity for a S&P 200 management consulting firm. Chowdary is CEO of NTwist, an Alberta based AI company that uses ML and AI techniques to optimize production and manufacturing processes and reduce cost.
Milo has spent his entire career seeking challenging biological goals and sourcing novel technologies to assist in attaining said goals. This includes all aspects of reforestation from site assessment and preparation through propagule deployment and tending to linking reforestation outcomes to long term management objectives. He has worked extensively in land reclamation, agroforestry for remediation of damaged soils, and in the substantial changes in prairie agriculture over the past three decades. Milo has also worked with many innovative technologies to both reduce and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. These range from carbon capture in trees through development and evaluation of biofuels - including numerous efforts to improve the efficiency of using renewable fuels.
Daryl has extensive research, management, regulatory and environmental experience resulting from 35 years in the mining and utility industries. He has innovated, negotiated and managed on behalf of TransAlta Corporation, Associated Mining Consultants Ltd., Gartner Lee Limited, Syncrude Canada Ltd., McIntyre Mines Ltd. and CANMET. Daryl has performed regulatory and public consultation, managed health, safety and environmental programs, and managed environmental impact assessments. As well, Daryl has planned and executed community, Indigenous, and regulatory consultation for the successful receipt of EUB and Alberta Environment applications.
Elizabeth has over 25 years of experience in research and innovation including leading cross organization and cross ministry projects; developing strategic plans and frameworks; product, program, and portfolio management; developing funding programs to grow Alberta's food manufacturing sector; and new service introductions within the telecommunications industry. She has held various Director level positions, within Government, a government agency, and within industry.
A former IMC client, Alex Nguyen has a background in Chemical Engineering and over 12+ years of industrial mining and commodity chemical technical and sales experience. Alex has worked on projects in the plastics, agriculture, pulp and paper and oil and gas space and has provided chemical to equipment solutions.
Lynn comes to IMC with a wealth of knowledge in the health and housing industry. As a senior executive, Lynn has led a variety of Boards and senior teams in public, private and government settings. In her last role, she brought three organizations into one, building a strong corporate culture that saw the organization double its inventory in less than five years. She demonstrates strong leadership, the ability to build community relationships across a wide spectrum, project management experience, operational management skills, and government relations.
Jeff began his career as a lawyer in BC, providing legal and business development advice to various Aboriginal clients in the BC central interior. Jeff has provided consultation services to Nations clients: engaging and negotiating with governments, other First Nations, Industry and general consultation – with the objective of assisting First Nations in achieving their business development goals. Jeff’s experience includes development of a joint venture with 6 First Nations communities for a proposed $200 million bio-energy facility with BC Hydro. In 2014 Jeff supported TransCanada Indigenous Relations and brought his expertise to the role of Alberta Aboriginal Relations Manager. Jeff successfully led the development of new strategies, innovative tools and progressive concepts, while overseeing $7 billion of pipeline and related facilities projects and collaborating with major project departments in the development and execution of over $50 million in Aboriginal procurement and business development. Jeff has a broad range of experience in business development, multi-level negotiation, First Nations engagement and collaboration, and relationship building and strategic management.
Jane has over 22 years of experience working in the fields of government, public relations and stakeholder relations in Alberta’s private and public sector. She has held senior stakeholder relations roles with Capital Power and EPCOR Utilities, and communication, event management, and media relations roles for the Alberta Government’s labour relations ministry. She is well experienced with managing stakeholder engagement programs with communities, First Nations, and industry, both for the Government of Alberta, and companies such as Shell Canada, Syncrude, EPCOR and Capital Power.
Prior to joining the Provincial Capital Commission (PCC) as its Chief Executive Officer in 2003, Ray Parks was a senior public sector executive with the Province of British Columbia, serving as the Human Right’s Commissioner, Executive Director of the Gaming Commission, Senior Policy Analyst in the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Senior Project Manager for the Ministry of Attorney General, and Ministry of Transportation and Highways. Over 33 years in government, Ray has been responsible for a wide range of government services and programs including, the management of jails, BC Human Rights Commission, gaming policy, and the creation of several public safety initiatives such as Photo Radar and Province Wide 911. A graduate of the University of Victoria, Ray is also active in the community and has held various board positions with Leadership Victoria, the YM/YWCA and the Braefoot Community Association.
Michael had a 15 year career as an elected member of Edmonton’s City Council, representing central Edmonton. During that time, he represented Edmonton on the Board of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). Michael has significant experience with government policy and planning structures and engagement work with communities and business policy initiatives. He has acted in an advisory role to Mayor Don Iveson and is currently the Chair of the University of Alberta Board of Governors.
Connie has 28 years of diverse and progressively responsible experience working with the Agriculture and Food sectors. Scientist by background, through her tenure, Connie has worked in many different areas of the agriculture sector including: food, feed, primary production, and bio-industrial. Starting as a research scientist and eventually becoming an Executive Manager, Connie was responsible for the development and implementation of several key initiatives within the provincial government. Additionally, Connie was successful in developing and supporting industry partners in commercializing several new food products. Connie's focus shifted from research to strategic planning and policy development for food safety, animal welfare, and social license. She has technical expertise in product development, and pilot scale process and product design in segments of the food, feed, personal care and bio-industrial sectors.
Graham has over 11 Years of experience in performance capture and video game development. He has worked on major video game & movie titles such as Assassins Creed, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Far Cry 4, and Stephen King’s IT (2017). Graham started in Motion capture at Rainmaker in 2007, and later moved to Toronto to help build the Performance Capture stage at Ubisoft’s Toronto office in 2012. He later went on to create Mimic Performance Capture - Canada’s largest motion and performance capture studio located in Vancouver.
Lloyd has decades of management consulting experience focused on CEO issues in agriculture, forestry, technology innovation, manufacturing and the rural economy. He has particular expertise in business improvement, including strategic improvement and restructuring as well as supporting systematic business development. He was previously the founder and President of AgriTrends Research Inc., which provided business and organizational development services in the public and private sector. Prior to that, he was hired as GM for a major agribusiness public company to operate agriculture, ranching and real estate assets, including restructuring and turning the division to profitability within two years while reducing overhead and expanding revenues. Additionally, he has Chaired several public hearings related to agribusiness, rural development and municipal development initiatives. He has served as the President of the Alberta Institute of Agrologists and Chairman of the Olds College Foundation. Lloyd has a M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology.
Wouter has over 40 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry with Petrofina and later after their merger, with Total. He held senior positions on four continents with stops in Great Britain and Australia before becoming Refinery Manager in Antwerp Belgium, and later in Angola and finally Port Arthur Texas before settling in Calgary as Senior Vice President of Major Projects for Total. Under his management all these refineries underwent major modernization investments. Wouter holds his Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Leuven in Belgium, he completed the Senior Management Program at the Harvard Business School and his participation in the oil and gas industry has included roles in the NPRA, NCIA and OSLI. His expertise spans from project development and implementation, to HR management, general management, operations, and business development. Wouter’s leadership and implementation skills are best illustrated by the speedy recovery of the Port Arthur refinery after Hurricane Rita. Wouter is uniquely positioned to cultivate strategic priorities in the Oil and Gas industry and transform them into confirmed effectual ventures.
As the President and CEO of Zip Equity Corporation, Sukhjit understands the globalization of marketplaces and synergies that can be created by coupling good opportunities with the right strategic partners. Sukhjit was the visionary that set up a training institute (welding, pipefitting, IT and millright) in Coimbatore, India in 2007 in partnership with NAIT and a local Indian partner. Sukhjit also brings his extensive political network to the boardroom table as he has very good relationships with the Provincial Government in Alberta. He can help Alberta companies who need access to government as well as the newly elected Liberal Government of Canada; having relationships with several of the newly appointed Ministers. Sukhjit is a serial entrepreneur, having started hardware & software companies.
Jeremy is an experienced technologist with a demonstrated history working in Pressure Pumping - Stimulation. Skilled in Chemical, Engineering, and Sales aspects of Hydraulic Fracturing and Acid Stimulation. Strong consulting professional with a Chemical Technology Diploma from Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).
Joe has more than 35 years of experience in accounting, transportation and logistics, and business management. His transportation and logistics experience includes considerable leading edge experience with re-load and storage facilities, and marine transport via barge and large ocean-going vessels. He worked for 20 of those years in the pulp and paper industry with the Celgar Pulp Company, Avenor Inc. and St. Mary’s Paper, where he innovated, designed, restructured, and negotiated transportation and distribution programs that led to substantial margin improvements. Joe is a business graduate of Selkirk College, and a CGA with numerous transportation and management certificates from institutions such as McGill and York University, and the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Glenn is a Chartered Financial Analyst with over 20 years of experience in evaluating and managing projects or businesses in the E&P, pipelines, natural gas processing, and power sectors. He has extensive commercial, financial and asset management experience in the pipeline and midstream industry. He has analyzed and obtained investments for projects and acquisitions over practically all energy commodities and infrastructure types ranging in value from $5 million startups to $1 billion pipeline projects. He has also overseen regulatory processes and negotiated energy supply agreements. Also, he has advised clients on energy procurement and risk management.
Pete Sametz has more than 35 years of experience in the oil and gas, EPC and power industries working with large, intermediate and emerging companies, managing growth from startup to intermediate status. His career has been characterized by entrepreneurship in startup companies and the early adaption of technologies including horizontal wells (since 1987), “modular” SAGD oil sands projects, COGEN (2009), dilbit by rail (2010) and the operations integration with a refinery in 2006. In the last 6 years have been focused on change management - brought into companies as CEO to restructure and overhaul strategically, financially, and culturally. He is recognized as a leader in innovation and an advocate for environmental and social responsibility in the energy industry. Mr. Sametz graduated in engineering from Carleton University with high distinction and is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) and the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD). He has been a director of four public companies, as well as a volunteer in the community and with industry organizations. He has been chairman of the In-Situ Oil Sands Alliance (IOSA), and governor of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP).
Pete has over 35 years' experience at IBM in various general, project, and sales management positions with increasing responsibility. Pete specialized in Strategic Outsourcing where clients turn over their systems to drive better results for lower costs. Pete led the change in dozens of Western Canadian clients as a Project Executive and then led a Canada-wide team of Project Executives. He has several years of working with the health bureaucracy and would be helpful to navigate the bureaucracy.
Bob Savage joins IMC after working for the past few years with Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) where he was the Executive Director responsible for Planning and Performance Management. Bob brings to IMC more than 30 years of experience in government, where he spent the majority of his career in Climate Change policy and integrated resource management and planning. As Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM), Bob was responsible for Alberta’s Climate Change Office (ACCO) within the Ministry of Environment and Parks. Prior to his role as an ADM, he was an Executive Director for the Regulatory and Compliance Branch and was a central figure in the development of Alberta’s Climate Change policy, legislation, and greenhouse gas regulatory and emission trading systems. This work also included the establishment of ERA. In addition to climate change, Bob has held senior management and executive management roles in the Ministry leading Air and Water policy, as well as Land Use Planning. Bob’s education is focused on land use planning and resource economics, and he holds an MBA specializing in Project Management.
Nick has proven and effective multi-disciplinary business and leadership skills. As the owner and manager of large scale cash crop and cattle farming operations since start up has demonstrated his capabilities in the areas of production management, marketing, finance, and human resource management. His knowledge of primary agriculture is also advanced through his six years supporting the regional business activities of leading global seed and trait technology firms. Having spent six years With North-South Trade & Investment Nick led and participated in project activities in the agriculture and agri-food, energy and forestry sectors. Additionally, in his position as Coordinator of Business Programs at Fairview College Nick was responsible for the leadership and instructional delivery of business programming and lectured in economics, managerial accounting, finance, computer technology and management information systems. Prior to joining Fairview College Nick held various position in the IT sector including a role as Branch Manager of an IBM business partner providing IT solutions to municipal governments based out of Calgary, as a Marketing representative with IBM Canada, and as a Management Information Systems Consultant with Arthur Andersen & Co.
David has over 25 years of experience as a financial executive in the energy industry. He gained substantial experience in the capital markets and established solid relationships with investment bankers and lenders. David's technical competence was fashioned while directing financial reporting, budgetary planning and control, risk management, tax compliance and internal audit functions. David's expertise goes beyond spreadsheets and his versatility was demonstrated while directing the marketing, human resources insurance and purchasing functions.
Lyle is a management consultant with over 25 years of experience in strategy, organizational development, leadership, marketing, communications and business development. He consults to corporations, government and non-profit organizations helping them realize the social and economic benefits of sustainable innovation and social transformation. Lyle is graduate of the University of Toronto (BA Hons. Spec, International Development and Anthropology) and Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) (MBA, Global Strategy and Marketing). He is also an active and engaged volunteer in his community and currently serves Director for both the Canadian National Exhibition Association and the Democracy House.
Pete Snyder is an accomplished government relations and public affairs executive with global experience - from national to local government across the globe. Pete is a retired leader at Air Products and Chemicals, having run the global Government Relations function for this Fortune 250 Multinational over a nearly 30 year tenure. Over his career, Pete has been crucial in facilitating the installation of large energy and processing plants across the North America, Europe and Asia. As Air Products expanded globally, he developed government relations capabilities and built a skilled, highly experienced global team. Recently, Pete led Air Products’ public policy and advocacy efforts, supporting the company’s global hydrogen growth strategy in the energy transition. His previous experience includes significant roles at Waste Management and ARCO Chemical, and he has been a leading lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and the Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council.
With a 40-year background in the electric power industry Richard consults with provincial governments, utilities, large power consumers, and industry associations on resource planning, transmission access, power-system reliability, cost of service, electricity pricing, technology developments, economic regulation and market structure issues. Beginning in the United Kingdom with graduate training in the planning of generation and transmission facilities his career included senior management roles with regulated electric utilities in Alberta and BC before representing consumer groups in regulatory interventions and acting as an independent witness in dispute arbitrations involving electric power facilities. Richard has a degree in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College London, and an MBA from the University of Calgary.
Laurie is a senior communications and stakeholder relations consultant with 25 years of experience including agency, corporate and government roles. In senior agency positions, she led a major initiative supporting TransCanada’s Energy East project, supported stakeholder relations for a pipeline in B.C. to serve the LNG industry, and led communications efforts for CAPP, the Government of Alberta, Shell Canada, Talisman, NSolv and others. She also led the teams undertaking stakeholder mapping projects for Pembina Pipelines and CAPP. At Petro-Canada, Laurie was a founding member of the Aboriginal Relations Team, and part of the project team that built the MacKay River SAGD Project. A native Edmontonian who has lived in Calgary for 20 years, Laurie has also worked with the City of Calgary and several Calgary civic institutions.
Chris has over 10 years of experience in business development and project management. He has over 4 years of private equity experience in the oil and gas sector. Chris has held top positions in companies like Capwest Equity Partners and Nor-Chris Holdings. He has a strong mergers and acquisitions background with focus on post-transaction integration in varied sectors including oilfield services, industrials and construction.
Ahsan is a cross-functional business professional and cleantech freelancer specializing in clean technology deployment, corporate climate change strategy, and sustainability metrics. Throughout his career, Ahsan has worked with startups, NGOs, governments, and Fortune 500 companies across Canada, the US, and Europe. His areas of focus include carbon monetization, clean energy project analysis, net-zero strategy development, GHG emissions quantification, and climate policy. Ahsan holds an MSc in Environmental Policy from the London School of Economics, a BSc in Environmental Sciences from Western University, and an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business.
With over 50 years of financial, operational, and general management experience, Bill brings an extensive background in leadership and real-world expertise. Bill’s areas of expertise include financial restructuring, corporate turnarounds, general management, and complex business transactions, particularly in Europe, Brazil, Japan, and Canada. Serving as a CFO for several companies between 1988 – 2003, Bill helped in the successful transition and growth of these companies. Between 2013 to 2016, Bill worked with Alberta Innovates as special advisor to the CEO, focusing primarily on small and medium-size enterprises. He is currently an investor, board member and president of Agents of Discovery – a digital education gaming platform. Bill is a retired U.S. Army Infantry Officer, a Vietnam Veteran and graduate of Bucknell University in Economics. Over the years, Bill has served as chairman and trustee of Southern New Hampshire Regional Medical Centre and on boards of several companies.
Wayne has over 35 years of land use and forest industry operations experience with particular expertise in successfully managing complex land use arrangements among industry stakeholders. He has provided resource sector specific consulting services for the last decade specializing in facilitation and project management for the energy and forest industry sectors. He was previously General Manager of Sawmills and Forest Resources for Daishowa-Marubeni and he has prior public and private sector experience in both Alberta and British Columbia. He is currently the director of the Foothills Landscape Management Forum operating under the Foothills Research Institute. He is also the regional coordinator for the British Columbia and Alberta Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement regional working group. Wayne is a Registered Professional Forester in both British Columbia and Alberta.
Gilles Turcotte is an MBA graduate from McGill University, with a specialization in international business and has a B.A in Economics from Université de Sherbrooke. Gilles has been a Business and Corporate Development Executive with 25+ years of success in leading international business organizations to leverage untapped market potential and enter new and emerging markets. He has vast expertise in business development, project development and corporate strategy in the infrastructure, energy and aerospace/defence domains. During his career, he led his employers' selection as suppliers for more than 15B$ of business in 30 different counties. In recent years, he worked with SNC-Lavalin for the Infrastructure Division as Vice President, Business Development & Proposals. He managed sales activities for a division with revenue exceeding 1B$ annually. The main projects pursued were in the transportation, energy, and natural resource sectors. He speaks English, French and Spanish.
Amit is a tech entrepreneur with 20+ years global experience in banking, Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS), and heavy construction industries. He is the CEO and co-founder of Braintoy Inc., an Artificial Intelligence technology firm that does real-time load prediction of utilities. He also founded Veerum, a Calgary-based industrial internet of things (IoT). Start-up experience also includes Adventity, a financial services ITeS firm in India, recognized as the Emerging Company of the Year. He has a master's degree in management science from the Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya and is an alum of the Indian School of Business and the Kellogg School of Management.
Matt Vickers has been entrenched in his indigenous tradition and has been a top-notch business leader for the past forty-four (44) years. He has built a number of successful businesses in a variety of sectors including First Nations artwork, technology and management consulting. He has worked with Royal Bank Financial Group as a Senior Manager developing their Aboriginal Banking program, as a Partner with a major consulting group and is now a Partner & CEO of Generating for 7 Generations.
Marvin is a highly experienced financial executive with over 35 years of experience in the power and industrial sector in Canada and internationally. His expertise includes extensive experience in capital markets, accounting, financial reporting, valuations, corporate development, operations, project finance, cross border financing, taxation, risk management, insurance, pensions and general commercial matters. His previous roles have included Chief Financial Officer of TransAlta New Zealand, and later Vice President and Treasurer of TransAlta Corporation. He was also previously Vice President of Stanley Power Inc., a subsidiary of the Cheung Kong Group of Hong Kong, and the founder, Director and Chief Financial Officer of N.A. Power Generation Trust, a privately owned income trust. Marvin is a member of the Institute of Charted Accountants of Alberta and the Financial Executives Institute.
Mike lives in Whitehorse, Yukon on the traditional lands of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta’an Kwäch’än Council. With over 35 years of experience working with municipal, provincial, territorial, and federal protected areas systems across Canada, the forest industry, environmental assessment, tourism, and community based economic development, Mike brings expertise in governance, power-sharing arrangements, and co-management to historic treaties, modern treaties, and unceded territory. Informing both strategic analysis and corporate policy development, Mike has extensive experience with Indigenous ways of knowing, protecting the environment, and improving the social and economic well-being of rural and remote communities. Mike has a diploma in Economic Development from the University of Waterloo, an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Outdoor Recreation from Lakehead University, a M.Sc from Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. from the University of Victoria. Mike is an adjunct professor at Lakehead University and serves as a Director on various community and non-profit Boards.
Rolf has over 24 years of experience in the development and disposition of startup companies. Sector experience includes energy services, transportation, software, high tech manufacturing and industrial gases. Over his years with IMC he has worked on numerous projects in bioindustrial technology, economic due diligence and feasibility assessments, strategic and tactical planning and new product market assessments.
John is a highly experienced executive who was previously the CEO of several oil and oil sands companies including Petrovera, Harvest Energy and most recently Sunshine Oil Sands. John has experience with Harvest's Newfoundland refinery as well as numerous oil sands projects. Previously, John had been involved extensively in operations and commercial roles in the oil and gas industry through senior positions at a number of oil and gas companies. He is former President of the Alberta Chamber of Resources and a past Governor of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. John has a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary and M.Phil. in Management from the University of Oxford.
Stephen Zepp is a senior healthcare executive with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. His career includes senior healthcare management positions for hospitals and government, serving as Chief Executive Officer in the rehabilitation space, leading major healthcare consulting projects for a national firm, and working as Executive VP of Business Development for a national pharmacy chain. Stephen's expertise extends to assisting healthcare businesses and private practitioners in areas such as clinic expansion, consolidation, partnerships, and market innovation. In summary, there is little in healthcare that Stephen hasn't done, and he provides clients with expert and relevant counsel.
Graduating with a degree in Economics from the University of Alberta in 1964, Ted had a distinguished career in the agricultural industry. Elected as a Director of United Grain Growers Limited in 1973, he held several leadership roles including Vice-President (1979-1989), Senior Vice-President and CEO (1989-1990), and President and Chairman (1990-2001). He later became President and Chairman of Agricore United (2001-2003). His extensive directorship roles include Prince Rupert Grain Ltd. (1990-2001), the Grain Insurance & Guarantee Co. (1990-1996), and the Royal Bank of Canada (1992-2000). He contributed to advisory groups on trade and agricultural policy, including the Sectoral Advisory Group on International Trade and the Winnipeg Agriculture Canada Research Station Advisory Committee. Additionally, Ted chaired the Canada Grains Council and the Chamber of Maritime Commerce and served on the boards of United Oilseeds Ltd., Enmax Corporation, the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, and the Alberta Audit Committee.
Larry is a professional with a strong background in agriculture and information technology. For the past 30 years Larry has been directly involved in working with small to mid-sized manufacturing and grain processing companies. His experience involves operational restructuring, change management, and training and implementing ERP software. Using the data obtained from the new integrated environment, Larry is able to develop the management reporting tools needed to monitor their daily operation and the effects of further bottom line operation changes to a company's performance. As a business operations consultant, Larry believes the full integration of technology into business operations provides the controls and metrics needed to manage successfully into the ever-increasing complexity of their customers' and government demands.
Don is a professional accountant with 20 years of diverse financial experience in the energy NGL midstream and upstream sectors. As the Vice President, Corporate Planning at Provident Energy, he was responsible for mid‐ to long‐term planning as well as assessing the strategic and financial impacts of all business development initiatives. In addition to these roles, Don also provided market intelligence to the company’s Executive Team and Board of Directors. Between 2000 and 2012, Don was an integral part of the Provident team that closed $3.8 billion in acquisitions, which included almost $1.1 billion in NGL assets and culminated in the $3.8 billion sale of Provident’s NGL business to Pembina Pipeline.
Craig Bell is a CA/CPA and lawyer residing in Calgary. Originally hailing from Northern Canada, he has done a lot of work in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Craig has a great deal of experience in investor relations, dispute resolution, regulatory affairs, and esoteric corporate and commercial law. He was chief legal officer and general counsel at several large cap public companies before working in private equity for several decades. His main practice areas are tax and intellectual property.
Ian has over 40 years of gas pipeline network system planning and related engineering experience following an extensive career with TransCanada Pipelines. He has served in roles ranging from Regulatory Project Manager to Facilities Planning Manager. He assisted in the preparation of the NEB application for the Keystone XL Pipeline and provided associated hearing support, as well as contributed to the fulfillment of post-certificate condition filings. He possesses significant gas and oil pipeline technical and regulatory expertise.
Leo has decades of design and project management experience in gas, oil and coal-fired conventional and nuclear thermal power plant projects and alternative energy, combined cycle, cogeneration and industrial utility power projects. Leo has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and was registered in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Quebec, the Northwest Territories, California, Florida, New York, Alaska and Ohio. His experience and responsibilities span all aspects of project work from conceptual and feasibility studies and site selection to conceptual design, specification preparation, engineering design and design review, technical supervision, quality control, procurement and construction including field supervision and commissioning. Leo also has a strong business development background and expertise.
John has over thirty years of experience with the Government of Canada across a number of departments and in a number of positions in policy development, program design and delivery and intergovernmental relations. His most recent position was as Director General and chief negotiator for the Strategic Innovation Fund in Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) where he successfully concluded deals with major companies across Canadian industry, including the auto, aerospace, biomanufacturing and ITC sectors. Prior to ISED, John was responsible for design and delivery of science, innovation and food programs at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). He also has significant experience working with provincial governments and indigenous communities.
Trevor Gent has over 15 years of experience in the financial services, chemical, and oil & gas industries. Trevor worked for one of North America's largest land owners and developers and was later promoted to Vice President of Sales for Northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. In his tenure with this organization, Trevor was part of raising well over $150 million for real estate based investment opportunities. Currently, he is acting as the part-time CFO of a real estate construction firm. Trevor has a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alberta.
Alnoor has almost 20 years of experience in the energy industry. He brings to IMC specialized skills in the areas of capital project planning, management, control and execution. Alnoor has a PhD in Civil Engineering, with a project management specialization focusing on systems that enhance project planning and predictability, leading to improved project execution. He has been involved in projects related to such things as SAGD well pads, upgraders and refineries, pipelines and tank farms for companies such as Petro-Canada, Devon Canada, Veco Canada and Jacobs Engineering.
Jim’s distinguished career in public serve and politics spanned almost twenty years. First elected to the Alberta Legislature as MLA for Medicine Hat in 1975, he served five consecutive terms (1975 to 1993), fourteen years of which he served as Minister of the Crown in roles ranging from Minister of Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs to Attorney General and Deputy Premier. In addition to his Cabinet responsibilities, Jim chaired the Cabinet Task Force on International Trade Negotiations. After leaving politics, he was the chief negotiator for Alberta on the Canadian Agreement on International Trade. Jim has since served as Chancellor of the University of Lethbridge and in 2006, was appointed to the Alberta Order of Excellence, and the Order of Canada. As a member of the Order of Canada he has presided over Citizenship ceremonies in S.E. Alberta.
Bill is a business leader with over 30 years of experience in the forestry industry in Canada. His career involved many senior positions including serving as President, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Alberta Pacific Forest Industries Inc., a $1.4 billion asset. Mr. Hunter also provided senior operations and project management for forest companies in Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta. Most recently, Bill has been involved in the development of; bio-products industry, industrial materials recycling industry, sand and gravel products as well as Indigenous capacity building. Bill is a multiple recipient as one of “Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People” (Alberta Venture Magazine) in 2002, 2007 and 2008.
Greg is a successful business owner, with over 20 years of experience, operating three start-up companies in the oil and gas service industry. Greg has a strong technical background and is a journeyman instrumentation technician. He also has strong oil and gas market knowledge and strong contacts and networks in the oil & gas industry. Greg has considerable construction experience through his work running a successful electrical contracting business.
Gerry has over 35 years of practical, project-related experience in western and arctic Canada. He has technical expertise in the design and implementation of Indigenous relations, stakeholder engagement, and risk communications strategies in support of the regulatory permitting of diverse resource development projects. These include petroleum drilling, development, production and pipeline operations involving oil sands, poisonous sour gas and conventional light oil, as well as projects involving mineral mining, nuclear power plants, the disposal of radioactive nuclear waste and the issues associated with oil and gas spills and releases, especially into waterways.
Terry has over 30 years of experience as an intellectual property lawyer, patent agent, and trademark agent. Terry is also registered as a P.Eng. with APEGA. Terry has extensive experience advising clients in a broad range of industries in all aspects of intellectual property, including obtaining intellectual property rights, assisting in research and development projects, developing and implementing intellectual property strategies, designing around intellectual property rights of others, conducting intellectual property due diligence, and providing litigation support in intellectual property disputes."
Allan has over 35 years of experience in designing, conducting and evaluating research on air quality and the effects of air pollution on Albertan and international terrestrial ecosystems. He is an expert in multidisciplinary environmental research design, initiation, coordination, management and execution. Allan received various awards by organizations such as the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists; Alberta Research Council and the Air and Waste Management Association. He has experience in government and industry related research projects and has worked with the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board; Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development; Husky; Petro-Canada and TransCanada Pipeline. Allan was previously the Senior Research Scientist with the Kananaskis Centre for Environmental Research and Senior Research Officer for the Alberta Research Council.
Jennifer is a senior stakeholder engagement specialist with experience in energy regulation, municipal public engagement, post-secondary educational institutions, and non-profit organizations. She was previously Director of Regional Stakeholder Relations at the Alberta Energy Regulator where she led the provincial team which worked extensively on Indigenous and Community engagement and provided Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) resources. Over the past 20 years, Jennifer has gained public participation, facilitation and leadership experience working with diverse groups looking to be more effective at engaging and collaborating stakeholders and indigenous communities. Jennifer has received several AER Chairman Awards for her work on the 2012 Red Deer River Pipeline Release, the Peace River Proceedings Implementation team, the Fort McMurray Wildfire team and for the creation of the TRM (Tailing Regulatory Management) Advisory Committee.
Fred has over 30 years of land use and forestry related experience in the public and private sectors. He served as Deputy Minister for the Department of Forestry, Lands and Wildlife of Alberta. He was involved in all aspects of forestry administration and management, including provincial programs for forest industry development, forest fire control, forest management, forest land use and silviculture/reforestation. As Vice-President and General Manager of Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd. (Alberta) he managed the wood panel and dimension lumber operations in Alberta. Fred’s experience in regulatory and land use issues related to reducing project risk is vast and invaluable.
Don has 40 years of wide-ranging project and construction management and operations experience. His operations expertise includes the petrochemical, pipelining, oil sands, refining and fertilizer industries. He was the Vice-President of SNC Lavalin and was the General Manager for their Edmonton office. In his business leadership and management roles, he has been crucial in the development and rollout of mission, vision and values of companies, strategic planning and alignment, balanced scorecard development and implementation. He is highly knowledgeable in project management including project execution and planning, front end due diligence and project plan implementation. Don is also experienced in highly advanced participative management systems as well as traditional management roles and he has had significant success in line management, staff management and other specialist roles.
Grant has over 30 years of corporate finance and project development experience. Grant was formerly Vice-President, Corporate and Energy Banking for Scotia Bank.
With a B.A.Sc. in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of British Columbia and further studies at the Banff School of Advanced Management, Bob has over 30 years of experience in the iron and steel manufacturing sector. A former senior executive and director at Stelco Inc., he played a pivotal role in the company's turnaround in the 1990s, significantly improving productivity and financial health. His expertise includes corporate restructuring, change management, and operational improvement. Post-retirement, he established an independent business advisory practice, providing strategic, operational, and technical guidance to major clients. He has also served on the boards of several companies, including Bruce Power Inc. and HatchCo Holdings, and has served as a Commissioner with both the B.C. Securities Commission and the B.C. Utilities Commission. His professional memberships include the Association for Iron and Steel Technology and registration with the engineering associations of Ontario and British Columbia.
Aki has over 45 years of experience in the public and private sectors. During his career, he has been engaged in many major support projects with major oil and gas companies. Aki has held various positions including Vice-President of Stanley Associates Engineering Ltd. (now called Stantec) and Managing Director of International Trade for Alberta Economic Development. He has managed many domestic and international projects and has been actively involved in international business development and marketing.
Bob has over 40 years’ experience in the Canadian forestry industry. He recently retired as Vice-President Woodlands with Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc. (Al-Pac). He managed Al-Pac’s Forestry Management Agreement (FMA) which encompassed 6.37 million hectares in North Eastern Alberta, and had operational and financial responsibility for a woodlands operations that provided the pulp mill with 3.5 million cubic meters of fiber annually. Bob’s career has had a focus on environmental sustainability and he has particular expertise supporting the development of sound environmental policies. Bob was a Board Member for the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC) and more recently chaired the Forest Operations Advisory Committee with FPInnovations. He served as a task force member with the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE), and also sat on the Board for the Institute of Agriculture and Forestry. Until recently Bob chaired the Forestry Committee of the Forest Products Association of Canada and has been keenly involved in the implementation of the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement.
Don comes from a global marketing communications background of 28 years in Canada and Asia-Pacific, where he provided brand strategy and marketing insights to companies such as Coca-Cola, Chevron, Goodyear, Intel, J&J, L'Oreal, Labatt's, MasterCard, Microsoft, Molson, Nestle, Samsung and UPS, to name a few. Before returning to Canada to create Bamboo Strategy , a boutique branding and insight firm now a division of IMC, he was the Managing Director of the Chinese operations of the world's largest ad agency - McCann Erickson.
Having spent 24 years with Syncrude, including time as a Senior Technical Advisor, John specializes in technology commercialization, the energy sector and regulatory issues, specifically relating to the oil sands. He also currently holds the position of Senior Vice President, Oil Sands Development for Titanium Corporation.
John has over 20 years of experience in oil and gas exploration and production. He was recently Manager, Well Solutions Canada for Baker Hughes and was previously Vice President, Joint Ventures and Business Development at Akita Drilling Ltd. His expertise includes project execution, systems development, stakeholder relations, drilling operation logistics and overall cost control. Particular to his stakeholder relations experience, he has helped establish and manage Aboriginal joint venture companies throughout Western and Northern Canada as well as in Alaska. He has market assessment experience specific to opportunity identification in jurisdictions across the globe. He also has substantial business development and technical expertise related to upstream oil and gas. John has an MBA from Queensland University of Technology and is a certified Drilling Foreman.
For almost 30 years Ed has served the Canadian resource industry from a financial and operational perspective. His operations, engineering, and production background stems from his successful careers with both Imperial Oil and TransCanada Corporation, while his senior positions at ARC Financial and Polar Securities drive his unique and expert perspective of energy related financial issues.
Don has 40 years’ experience as a specialist in integrated land management (ILM), combining expertise in forestry, energy sector operations, and site reclamation to minimize impacts and maximize benefits. He began his career with the Government of Alberta as a reclamation officer and forest ranger before joining Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries in 1992. He developed and implemented Al-Pac’s extensive ILM program during a period of massive expansion of oil sands operations in the company’s FMA area. Since 2014, he has provided environmental and reclamation planning and implementation services for pipeline and energy clients such as TransCanada Pipelines and the Alberta Carbon Trunk Pipeline. He is an API Certified Pipeline Inspector and an Alberta Registered Professional Forest Technician, has served on government and industry advisory committees, and delivered papers and presentations on ILM.
Dr. Ian Potter is President & Chief Executive Officer of Vineland, as well as President and Chief Executive Officer of Platform Genetics, Inc. Previous to Vineland, Ian served as Vice President, Engineering and Vice President, Business Management with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and previous to NRC as the Chief Operating Officer at Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures (AITF). During his 10 years at AITF and its predecessor, the Alberta Research Council (ARC), he held several leadership and management positions in energy, environment, greenhouse gas technology and human resources. Dr. Potter has a successful track record in innovation and strong experience developing and collaborating with a broad network of stakeholders. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary.
Terry is an innovative, bilingual, results oriented executive with a record of achievements in general management, finance and marketing. He has also provided consulting services related to industrial engineering, construction, and manufacturing. His career spans 40 years with a background in large EPC projects, mechanical construction, M&A and other consulting work. An excellent communicator capable of establishing and enhancing client relationships and building a highly motivated team, Terry has a unique blend of business and entrepreneurial experience with an outstanding record of skillful negotiation at all levels.
Ted Reeser began his career as a financial executive in the resource industry with positions that included Treasurer of Interprovincial Pipe Line (now Enbridge), CFO of Canadian Helicopters, and Timminco – a specialty metals producer. Subsequently, he gained experience importing, commercializing and distributing new products and technologies as the owner and operator of Celco, one of Canada’s larger equipment suppliers to the food service industry. Since the sale of Celco in 2015, Ted has been an advisory board member to start-up companies in the water treatment and artificial intelligence fields. Ted’s recent public company experience includes being a Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Jaguar Mining, and he has also served as a Director of Temex Resources and Bridgepoint Hospital.
George has over 40 years of extensive experience in oil sands mining and upgrading, oil refining, refined oil and lubricating oil marketing, petrochemicals, fertilizers, explosives, chemicals, natural gas and natural gas liquids industries in Canada and worldwide. George has BA Sc. And MA Sc. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo. He is a member of APEGA, a participating member of the Canadian Heavy Oil Association, a member of the Alberta Chamber of Resources, and a member of the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC).
Al has extensive environmental regulatory expertise having worked in several public and private sector roles over the last 40 years. This work included direct experience in the public sector, working with increasing responsibility in air quality control, environmental monitoring, standard setting, approvals, investigation and enforcement and emergency response, culminating for almost 5 years as the Assistant Deputy Minister with broad responsibility for the Environmental Regulatory Service in the Department of Environment. He then spent over 15 years as the Regional Director for the Canadian Chemical Producers’ Association / Chemistry Industry Association of Canada where he continued his focus on managing environmental issues. Al also spent 6 years as a member of the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board. Al has a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering and an M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta.
Patrick has 20 years of experience working within an accounting environment. He has extensive knowledge on accounting controls; payroll and financial principles. Patrick has provided support in project finances and project management and is familiar with various accounting systems and reporting structures.
Russ has over 20 years of experience in management consulting, project development and finance. He has worked in the oil & gas, power, telecommunications, forestry, computer software, manufacturing and tourism sectors for several consulting firms including PriceWaterhouse and Deloitte & Touche.
Greg has had a long and decorated career in academia where he concluded a successful, decade-long tenure of largest faculty at the University of Alberta as Dean of Science. Specializing in plant ecology, Greg earned his PhD in Biology from Queen’s University in 1983. Dr. Taylor has led numerous research projects that span four decades that primarily focus on plant-based sciences. Greg has extensive experience in research, management, operations and implementation. Under his leadership, the University of Alberta built a 50,000 square foot, state of the art facility that focuses on interdisciplinary sciences with over 1,000 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students.
Ed has broad experiences in addressing diverse and complex problems with a high level of cross functional planning, integration and optimization. Most recently he led the integration and consolidation of the marketing portfolios for sulphur, petroleum coke, and diesel for Suncor and Petro-Canada and was responsible for planning and cost control for lodging and transportation infrastructure requirements. Ed is experienced in coordinating and managing cross functional teams in developing business opportunities and executing transactions that enhance operational excellence in support of Oil Sands Projects.
David has an extensive background in business and politics. From 2008 to 2015 David was a MLA in Alberta during which time he held several Parliamentary Assistantships and Committee Chairmanships. Prior to his time with government, David had a number of positions in the private sector. He was a partner at China TYT Liquid-Air Inc., which specialized in industrial gases for seven years where he was responsible for marketing both domestically and internationally. He later found his own company China Ventures Inc., which exported agricultural products and breeding cattle from Canada to China. After which, he became managing-director and CEO of Saudi Arabia East and West Trading Co., which specialized in importing and exporting petroleum equipment. David has also acted as a consultant to Nortel, Bombardier and Motorola for specific projects they have conducted in China. He has particular expertise in business development and a strong knowledge of the oil and gas, and agriculture sectors.
John served as Alberta's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources from 1982 to 1986, having first been elected as a Member of the Alberta Legislature in 1979. He negotiated the end to the National Energy Program on behalf of the Alberta Government, resulting in the Western Energy Accord. He is the current Chairman of Pengrowth Energy. John provides IMC with timely and insightful advice in all of its practice areas with particular emphasis on government relations in Western Canada and management surrounding the natural resources industry.