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Stan Magidson Chair & CEO, ASC |
Cheryl McGillivray Chief Accountant & CFO, ASC |
Denise Weeres |
Guest speakers & panelists
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The Honourable Travis Toews Minister Toews was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta on April 16, 2019, as the MLA for Grande Prairie-Wapiti. A lifelong resident of Alberta, Toews and his wife live in the Grande Prairie region and have three children and eight grandchildren. He has considerable business experience, and holds a CPA, CMA accounting designation and, prior to pursuing business interests, spent twelve years in a public accounting practice. In the past 15 years, he and his wife Kim, have invested in, managed and grown a corporate family cattle ranching operation and an oilfield environmental company. Toews has served as a Director on a number of local non-profit boards, as well as provincial and national industry boards and committees including the Alberta Beef Producers and the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance. He was elected President of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association in 2010 and served until the term end in 2012. Toews co-chaired the Agri-Innovators Committee for then federal Agriculture Minister, Gerry Ritz. As a Canadian representative on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation committee on food security and a member of the Country of Origin Labelling Canadian World Trade Organization Legal working group, Toews has worked globally to support Canadian interests in international trade. In 2012, he received the QEll Diamond Jubilee Award presented by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General David Johnston for contributions to Canadian Agriculture and Trade. Travis Toews was appointed as Alberta’s President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance on April 30, 2019. |
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Judy Fairburn Judy Fairburn is a change-maker, an engineer, business leader and early stage investor. Currently, she is Co-CEO and Fund Managing Partner of The51 and a board director of technology and energy companies as well as the Business Council of Alberta. She also serves on the ASC New Economy Advisory Committee. She has been at the vanguard of environmental sustainability, digital innovation, corporate / entrepreneurial partnerships and diversity as critical to future-proof business. She has co-founded cutting-edge ventures that put such to action, including: The51 - a platform and venture fund for investors, entrepreneurs and those that aspire, that puts women-led capital to work in innovative women-led startups; and Evok Innovations - a $100 million cleantech / digital venture fund. Her career includes roles as Chief Digital Officer, EVP Business Innovation, EVP Environment and Strategy, and VP-level operations, P&L and technology development roles. She was also the first female Board Chair of Alberta Innovates. Judy holds an MSc (Chemical Engineering), an MBA and Institute of Corporate Directors designation. She is also honoured to be a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, an award-winning Creative Destruction Lab mentor, and recipient of the 2020 Calgary Influential Women in Business Lifetime Achievement Award. |
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Dawn Farrell Dawn L. Farrell has been a leader in the electricity business for over 35 years and is known for her deep policy work in electricity, the environment and ESG. She served as president and CEO of TransAlta Corp., one of the largest investor-owned generation and energy marketing companies in Canada, for over nine years until she retired in March 2021. As president and CEO of TransAlta, Dawn led the transformation of the company to competitive power focused on low cost, clean and reliable solutions for large commercial and industrial customers. She led multiple complex M&A transactions, completed a companywide complex cultural transformation, critically evaluated and negotiated a complex off coal transaction with government, built a significant business presence in Australia, and executed private and public financial transactions to advance TransAlta’s strategic shift away from coal fired generation. Dawn is currently the lead director for Chemours Inc. and a member of the board of Canadian Natural Resources. She is also the Chancellor for Mount Royal University and a member of the Trilateral Commission and a Community Champion for Momentum. Her previous boards positions included Fording Coal, the Business Council of Canada, the Alberta Business Council, the Conference Board of Canada, Mount Royal University, and Vision Quest Windelectric and the New Relationship Trust. As a community leader, Dawn co-founded the Alberta Business Council, co-chaired the Calgary United Way campaign in 2013, and worked with the Canadian government on a roadmap for advancing renewable wind technology. She was a member of the Canada-U.S. Council for the Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders, and has extensive experience in negotiating agreements with First Nations in British Columbia. Dawn has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Calgary and has attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. |
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Tristan Goodman Tristan Goodman is President of The Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (EPAC), a national lobby group representing Canada’s oil and gas entrepreneurs. With over 140 member companies producing a large proportion of the nation’s hydrocarbon endowment, members spend billions of dollars annually across the country and directly employ more than 50,000 people in every province and territory. He is a leading advocate for the Canadian energy industry with governments, regulators, the news media and general public. Previously he was Senior Vice President with one of the nation’s largest energy regulators and has worked for a several multinational energy companies. He holds a Ph.D., LL.M., LL.B. and other degrees related to natural resource management, law, environmental science and economic history. |
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Jon Horsman Jon is responsible for the strategy, direction and leadership of ATB’s presence in business markets. ATB has brought together Corporate Financial Services, Business & Agriculture and ATB Capital Markets, formerly AltaCorp Capital to build on our history of being in service to Alberta businesses and to deliver value, expertise and advice to our customers. He also oversees the management and financial performance of ATB Capital Markets, a subsidiary of ATB Financial, which provides capital market solutions for institutional and corporate clients. Jon started his banking career with ATB over 18 years ago and has held increasingly senior roles, including Co-Head of Corporate Financial Services (CFS) and, most recently, Chairman & CEO of AltaCorp Capital. Jon believes in building strong relationships with the markets ATB serves, listening and responding to client needs, and supporting their success by providing tailored and comprehensive financial-service solutions that create a positive customer experience. Jon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (Honours) from Gonzaga University and a Master of Business Administration from the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta. |
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Darcy Hulston Darcy Hulston brings more than 30 years of practical financial service experience. As co-founder, President and CEO of Canoe Financial he sets the organizational tone, culture and vision for Canada’s fastest growing mutual fund company. Darcy has hired & mentored well over 1000 individuals and has conducted over 500 public presentations. A recognized industry expert, he has appeared on BNN and CBC and is frequently sought out for career and business advice. Darcy routinely speaks with high school and business students at a number of post-secondary institutions providing entry level career advice and offering mentorship. Born in Yorkton and raised on a mixed farm in Saltcoats Saskatchewan, Darcy lives in Calgary with his wife and 3 children. |
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Kevin Krausert Entrepreneur. Dreamer. Scientist. Kevin has spent 20 years on the front lines of the energy transition in numerous executive leadership roles across the industry. Starting his career as a roughneck on the oilrigs of Northern Alberta, he grew through the ranks until he was Chief Executive of Canada’s oldest drilling company. Accomplished in corporate strategy and governance, capital planning, marketing, technology and intellectual property management, Kevin’s leadership led to the creation, financing and execution of the first fully computerized drilling rig in Canada, the first long-reach horizontal well in the Canadian arctic, numerous joint ventures with Canada’s Indigenous peoples fostering Economic Reconciliation in remote communities, and the creation of the Calgary Energy Transition Center. Having led a major corporation through the disruption of the Canadian energy industry, Kevin is uniquely positioned to lead Avatar Innovations’ ambitious plan to unlock energy transition solutions inside oil and gas for investment, commercialization and scale. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science from McGill University and a Masters of Business Administration from the Haskayne School of Business. He serves on the steering committees of the Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN) and the Energy Futures Lab (EFL). His previous board experience includes Drilling Executive Chair of the Board of the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC) and Chair of Development of the Alberta Ballet. |
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Patrick Lor Patrick Lor is Managing Partner at Panache Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital firm that has invested in over 95 startups. He is also partner at 500 Startups Canada, and has been recognized by University of British Columbia’s Creative Destruction Lab as Associate of the Year in 2019, and by the University of Calgary with its inaugural Big Ideas Bold Leaders Alumni Award. Previously, Patrick was co-founder of iStockphoto, which was sold to Getty Images in 2006. He was also head of North American operations for Fotolia, which was acquired by Adobe in 2014. Patrick holds a BA in Sociology and an MBA, both from the University of Calgary, and is also an active angel investor and LP in several venture capital funds including iNovia Capital, Version One Ventures, and Garage Ventures. In addition, he is an advisor and mentor at several technology incubator programs, and is a charter member of thea100.org and thec100.org. |
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Irfhan Rawji Irfhan Rawji is the Founder & CEO of MobSquad, an innovative Canadian start-up that ensures high-caliber software engineers with U.S. work visa challenges remain working with their current company, but near-shored from Canada. MobSquad also forms near-shored teams of software engineers in Canada for North American clients on an exclusive, long-term basis. Irfhan is also a Managing Partner with Relay Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm with US$600MM of assets under management. Irfhan is also an Adjunct Professor at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, where he has taught in the areas of finance, public policy, strategy and leadership. Irfhan has prior experience at McKinsey & Company, Birch Hill Equity Partners, Onex Corporation (TSX:ONEX) and Parkland Corporation (TSX:PKI). Irfhan serves on the boards of numerous businesses and organizations. He is Board Chair of The Organic Box, Alberta’s largest organic food hub, offering home delivery as well as click-and-collect grocery services. He is Board Chair of Activate, a partnership between the Government of Canada, private investors and the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada; and is Board Chair of The Logic, a digital media publication focused on the innovation economy. He is also Director of Sage Properties, a Calgary-based real estate investment corporation; Director at Alate Properties Inc., an early-stage property technology investment firm; Director of PBA Land & Development, a Calgary-based Western Canadian property development firm; and is a Director of Canadian Western Bank (TSX:CWB), a Schedule I Canadian bank focused specifically on business owners. Irfhan holds an MBA with High Honors from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar, and also holds a BComm with Honours from the University of British Columbia where he was a Wesbrook Scholar. He is a recipient of The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Award of Merit, the Sauder School of Business’ Teaching Excellence Award, Business for the Arts’ Arnold Edinborough Award, and is a member of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 (2017). |
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Craig Senyk Craig Senyk is President and Vice Chair at Mawer Investment Management, which he joined in 1997. Previously at Mawer, Mr. Senyk was responsible for the management of both institutional and private client investment portfolios. He was also manager of the Mawer Tax Effective Balanced Fund. Mr. Senyk is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder and has a Bachelor of Commerce degree with distinction from the University of Alberta, which he obtained in 1995. He has been recognized as one of Calgary’s Top 40 under 40, and is a past president of both the Calgary CFA Society and the Calgary chapter of the University of Alberta School of Business Alumni Association. Mr. Senyk is a member of the CFA Institute and Toastmasters International. He is currently Chair of Theatre Calgary, and also co-hosts the Calgary and Toronto Jamboree for Charity with his wife, Cara Senyk. |