| John Adams Managing Director, Natural Gas Innovation Fund Canadian Gas Association In his role, John is responsible for raising capital from industry investors, manages the fund's investment process, governance and accountability, and implementing the fund's investment strategy for natural gas priorities to raise capital from its industry investors; manages the fund's portfolio activities including technology scouting and deal review, technical and business evaluation, due diligence and evaluation, project management, corporate performance and entrepreneurial support; and ultimately responsible for all day-to-day management decisions including human resources, risk management, accounting and auditing, investment and fund management and performance. John brings 25 years of experience in the cleantech energy sector with his current position at NGIF and previous positions at Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) - with a range of increasingly senior positions including Director, Applications/Funding Advisory, Director, Stakeholder Relations, Vice President Industry, and Executive Director raising $40M in partnership agreements, leading national funding competitions, created a national Virtual Incubator, and reviewed over 1000 cleantech ideas and proposals; and at Mitsui & Co. (Canada) Ltd. with positions in infrastructure business and international trade. John has a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Environmental Science and Environmental Management from University of Toronto. | |
| Carey Arnett President Arnett & Burgess Pipeliners Ltd. Carey is President of Arnett & Burgess Pipeliners. Carey has 20 years of diversified experience in the energy industry, including most recently managing and directing growth, operations, and strategic development for one of Canada’s most experienced pipeline and facility construction, and pipeline integrity contractors. Close alignment with leadership teams has allowed opportunities for hands-on involvement in creating strategic direction, innovative solutions, and contributing to long-horizon success for the businesses that A&B serves. Carey is currently a Director for several private businesses, a Governor with the Calgary Petroleum Club, and a Board Member and Chair of CEPA Foundation. Previously, Carey has filled the roles of Vice Chair of the Foundation and Chair of the Audit Committee. | |
| Rob Beamish Executive Director CEPA Foundation Rob Beamish joined CEPA Foundation in January 2017 as its Executive Director. Rob has fifteen years of experience with TransCanada in a range of areas including field operations, gas control, IT and facilities planning; his most recent position in 2015 was Director of Supply Chain Services where he led multiple teams across North American as well as Supply Chain’s transformation initiative and continuous improvement program. The remainder of his 30+ years of experience was spent in the innovation sector helping Alberta’s early stage technology companies grow their businesses. In this area, he has held positions of VP Operations at Calgary Technologies Inc., founding CEO at Tecterra, Director at Climate Change Central and Executive Director, Clinexus. Rob has also founded two consulting firms that provided innovation management consulting to small businesses, governments and crown corporations in the domains of energy, clean tech, health technology and information technology. Rob has sat on the boards of the Ability Society, InfoTech AB (Banff Venture Forum), Calgary Angel Network and Nipika Mountain Resorts. Rob is a Professional Engineer with a civil engineering degree and an MBA from Queen's University as well as a Masters of Environmental Design from the University of Calgary. | |
| Efren Blackledge ISNetworld Efren Blackledge serves as Team Lead of the ISN Data Science Team. In this role he oversees the research and development of health and safety data initiatives, including the gathering and publishing of contractor management survey data and annual HSE and insurance benchmarking publications. Prior to joining ISN, Efren worked in several supply chain roles, first as a procurement and subcontracts manager at Harris Corporation and then in strategic sourcing, technical sales and operations management at McMaster-Carr Supply Company. He has an MS in Predictive Analytics, JD in Business & Commercial Law and MBA in Operations Management. | |
| Brian Habjan Partner, Consulting & Deals PwC Brian leads PwC Canada’s Procurement & Supply Chain practice, bringing over 18 years’ experience working across a variety of industries, specializing in Energy and Utilities. His focus is on helping clients build world-classSupply Chain capabilities through Operational Excellence and adopting next generation Digital Technologies. He brings a wealth of knowledge, having worked with over 60 organizations in 20 countries throughout his career, helping organizations adopt new ways of working and stay on the cutting edge of supply chain through innovation, collaboration and digital. Throughout his career Brian has helped clients extract $3B in value from their operations and capital programs through large-scale performance improvement initiatives and capability-driven transformations that create competitive advantage. Some of his clients include Husky Energy, TransAlta, TransCanada, AltaGas, SaskEnergy, BC Hydro, EnergyAustralia, the Government of Alberta and Coca-Cola. | |
| Andrea Jalbert Vice-President, Supply Chain TransCanada As Vice-President, Supply Chain, Andrea Jalbert is responsible for all supply chain management and procurement needs for TransCanada. She also has responsibility for business support services such as warehousing and inventory, accounts payable, and resource planning and analysis. Ms. Jalbert has been with TransCanada for more than 20 years and over this time has held various corporate, operations, project and leadership roles which have included responsibility for safety, occupational health and industrial hygiene, emergency management, Indigenous relations, community relations, land and environment. Prior to her current appointment, Ms. Jalbert was Vice- President, Environment, Land and Indigenous Relations. Ms. Jalbert holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Honours Biology from the University of Waterloo. | |
| Chelsie Klassen Global Director, Indigenous Engagement Hatch Chelsie Klassen has broad experience in Indigenous collaboration, community engagement, issues management and communications. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Manitoba and immediately pursued her career in oil and natural gas development. She began her career negotiating surface land contracts and soon found her niche in Indigenous engagement on oil sands, conventional oil, natural gas, offshore oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects where she continues to maintain strong relationships with Indigenous communities across Canada. While building her career, Chelsie completed her Masters of Arts in Conflict Analysis and Management, creating a one-of-a-kind efficiency model to evaluate time and energy required for effective community engagement on major projects. At Hatch, she provides Indigenous engagement expertise to clients across different vertical industries including mining, energy and infrastructure. | |
| Jason Landa Vice President, Operations JSG Professional Services ULC Jason is Vice President, JSG Professional Services ULC, a Johnson Service Group Company. Born and raised in Calgary, Jason has almost 25 years experience focused exclusively on the energy & energy transportation and storage industry providing Pipeline Inspection Services, Technical Staff Augmentation and business solutions to many of Canada’s largest and most respected enterprises. | |
| Carlos Murillo Conference Board of Canada As a Senior Research Associate, Energy and Environment Policy at The Conference Board of Canada, Carlos assists in conceptualizing and developing new research opportunities, undertakes complex research projects, and helps in expanding the profile of the organization’s energy and environment policy research portfolio. Prior to his current role, Mr. Murillo was an Economist in the Industry Economics group at The Conference Board of Canada. In this role, he oversaw the analysis of Canada’s energy industries and provided expertise on all issues related to energy economics. | |
| David Murk Manager, Pipelines; Midstream and Industry Operations American Petroleum Institute Captain David Murk, US Coast Guard (ret.), is the Pipeline Manager at the American Petroleum Institute (API) and is responsible for the oversight of infrastructure policy and technical issues to support and advocate for the safe and reliable transportation of petroleum liquid and natural gas by pipeline. Prior to joining API in 2016, Murk served twenty-six years in the public sector including twenty-four years with US Coast Guard and two years at US Department of Transportation (USDOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). In his last three years in the Coast Guard, Murk served as the Senior Maritime Advisor to the Secretary of Transportation. At USDOT, Murk served as the Director of Field Operations in the Office of Pipeline Safety, where he helped lead over 140 pipeline inspectors in the oversight of federal safety regulations for interstate natural gas and petroleum liquid pipelines and liquefied natural gas facilities. Murk began his career at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut earning a BS in Applied Science and has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. David, his wife Pam and boys reside in Maryland with their five dogs. | |
| The Honorable Rod Phillips Minister of Environment The Honourable Rod Phillips was sworn in as Ontario's Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks on June 29, 2018. Minister Phillips, MPP for Ajax, assumes his current role following a successful business career. Most recently, he was Chair of Afiniti Canada, a global artificial intelligence company, and Postmedia, Canada’s largest news media company. The minister is a former President and CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, and of Shepell.fgi, a Canadian-based international employee health company. As well, he was volunteer chair of CivicAction, which brings together business, labour and community leaders to address challenges facing the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The minister has also served as chief of staff in the offices of then-Minister of Labour Elizabeth Witmer and former Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman. Born in Newmarket, the minister has an Honours BA in political science and english from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University. | |
| The Honorable Greg Rickford Minister Energy, Northern Development and Mines; Indigenous Affairs The Honourable Greg Rickford was elected to the Ontario Legislature as the MPP for Kenora—Rainy River on June 7th, 2018, and currently serves as the Minister of Energy, Northern Development, and Mines, as well as Minister of Indigenous Affairs Ontario. He is also a member of the Treasury Board of Ontario. Before coming to Queen’s Park, Minister Rickford represented the people of Kenora—Rainy River in Ottawa as the Member of Parliament. During his seven year federal term, he was appointed to Cabinet where he served as Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, Minister of Natural Resources, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. Among other positions and committee memberships, Minister Rickford belonged to the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Committee and the Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women. At both the federal and provincial levels, Minister Rickford has served the people of Ontario and Canada by building relationships with Indigenous communities and leaders—listening and giving voice to their concerns. Greg, his wife Janet and their two young daughters, live in Keewatin Ontario. He has lived and worked in many capacities in northern Ontario throughout his professional career. He has owned his own business, and holds degrees in common and civil law from McGill University and an MBA from Université Laval. Today, Minister Rickford is keen on delivering on the commitment to make life more affordable and businesses more prosperous through the ministries he oversees. | |
| Reena Sahney President Jiva Consulting & School of Energy Reena brings 25 years of experience in the energy sector to Jiva Consulting (previously operating as PBOK Technical Training Ltd.), a training and consulting organization that focuses on pipeline engineering. In addition to her engineering background and experience in the training sector, she brings strong project management skills and experience in delivering complex consulting engagements both locally and internationally. Reena is a member of APEGA as well as the INGAA Foundation Board and has been active with a number of industry organizations including the Pipeline Systems Division of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and NACE International. | |
| Patrick Smyth Vice President, Performance CEPA (Canadian Energy Pipeline Association) Patrick Smyth is Vice President of Performance at the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA) where he and his team work with member companies and sector partners to enhance industry performance and reputation. Patrick also serves as President of the International Pipeline Conference Foundation – a partnership between CEPA and ASME. Prior to joining CEPA in September 2014, Patrick spent seven years in an executive leadership role with Canada’s National Energy Board and eight years in various roles with the province of British Columbia where he split his time between the Ministry of Energy and Mines, and Oil and Gas Commission. During his time with the B.C. Public Service, Patrick was instrumental in developing and executing the province’s oil and gas development strategy. Patrick began his career in the trades and after obtaining his red seal endorsement progressed into a quality assurance role obtaining certification in both Canada and the United States in welding inspection, non-destructive examination and costings inspection. With a passion for life- long learning, he has earned a Diploma of Technology from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, a BComm and MBA from Royal Roads University, and a Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety from the University of New Brunswick. He is a passionate safety professional holding designation as a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP) and a deep interest in advancing safety culture within the Canadian pipeline industry. | |
| Venkat Somasundaram Director, Operations & Supply Chain Consulting PwC Venkat is one of the leaders within the Canadian Operations and Supply Chain practice in PwC’s Consulting & Deals practice based in Calgary. He has more than twelve years of diverse functional experience in strategy, operations, project management, procurement, category management and materials management, logistics and supply chain management in energy(upstream & midstream), utilities, public sector, mining, manufacturing, transportation, telecom and banking on a number of large scale supply chain transformation projects. He is a subject matter specialist in end-to-end supply chain advancements across industries including digital supply chain, operational excellence, supply chain analytics, leading practice process design and cloud ERP systems business cases and implementation. | |
| Tony Straquadine Executive Director INGAA Foundation Anthony “Tony” Straquadine, Jr. assumed the role of Executive Director of the INGAA Foundation in September 2018. As executive director, Tony is responsible for managing the Foundation’s technical and economic studies, implementing its strategic plan and overseeing the planning and studies process. He also leads the development and execution of the Foundation’s meetings and workshops. Tony has worked in the oil and natural gas industry for over 35 years. Prior to joining the Foundation, Tony worked with Alliance Pipeline, most recently as Managing U.S. Officer and Manager, Commercial & Government Affairs. He was responsible for developing and implementing government relations strategies in the U.S. and Canada. Before joining Alliance in 1999, he held variety of operational and senior human resource management positions at Halliburton Company. Tony holds a Bachelor of Science degree in geology and geophysics from the University of Hawaii. He has served on the board of directors of both the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America and the INGAA Foundation, the executive committee of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, the advisory board for Illinois State University’s Institute for Regulatory Policy Studies and as the past chair of the Heat is Power Association, an association representing the Waste Heat to Power industry. He frequently speaks at industry and regulatory conferences. | |
2019 CEPA Foundation Spring Meeting
Tuesday, May 7th, 2019 - Thursday, May 9th, 2019
Pillar and Post Hotel, Niagara-on-the Lake, ON
