One Canada

Living in both Spain and Argentina before moving to Canada, David relocated to Calgary as an adult and became very active in organizations based in the city. He began his career in surveying, exploration, engineering procurement, and construction management, before taking on project management and corporate leadership.

David has worked at Encana and Cenovus in a variety of management and specialist roles, and served as advisor to several boards and sub-committees before transitioning to academia. He served as the Academic Chair for the B.Sc.in Construction Project Management at SAIT, the Chairman of the Canadian Coalition for Green Finance, and the Director of Strategic Centre Initiatives at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary. In that time, he oversaw many entrepreneurial and sustainability initiatives and seminars, informed by more than 20 years of experience in oil, gas, and clean technology.

David holds dual undergraduate degrees, a technical diploma, and a dual M.BA focused in global energy management, sustainability, and project management. He is also a Certified Engineering Technologist under ASET.

Laura Weeden is a Professional Engineer, holding a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Dalhousie University. She is the VP of Operations at CanWhite Sands Corp., working on a new, more environmentally friendly mining methodology for a high purity silica sand mine. Her prior experience includes major management and leadership roles at Baker Hughes and Schulmberger & Pomerleau. A recipient of the 2020 International Society of Petroleum Engineers Young Member Outstanding Service award, the 2018 Young Women in Energy award, and an Oilweek 2016 Rising Star, she currently participates in several leadership roles as the Chair of the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Calgary section. Additionally, she leads community energy literacy initiatives through hands-on, science-based learning. Laura is currently pursuing a Project Management Certificate at the University of Calgary.

Juliana Uto is an experienced energy industry leader with a track record of successful investment, execution and value creation across the energy value chain, spanning commercial, business and asset operations in domestic and international markets, including Canada, the U.S., Chile, Brazil and continental Europe.   In her current role, she is responsible for strategy and cross business integration for Royal Dutch Shell’s New Energies business, having the privilege to directly shape the strategic realignment of the business and catalyze the O&G supermajor’s transition to a cleaner energy system while meeting the world’s growing energy demand and tackling climate change, alongside traditional energy sources.

She brings a pragmatic, global perspective, backed by decades of commercial and technical delivery, along with the proven ability to lead change and facilitate alignment among key stakeholders.  Juliana has an extensive community leadership portfolio, most notably as a member of the Business Development Advisory Committee of the United Way of Calgary, past Director of the Canadian Industrial Gas Consumers Association, member of the Marketing and Positioning Committee of Education Matters and mentorship roles with APEGA and Junior Achievement.  She champions and invests in breakthrough, early and growth stage Canadian companies that bring new technologies and business models to market and provide innovative solutions to significant problems in various domains.

Juliana holds a Bachelor of Science (B. Sc.) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta and a Professional Engineer designation from APEGA.

Dr. Robert Skinner holds advanced degrees in geology from Queen’s University (Hon. B.Sc., 1968) and the University of Washington, Seattle (Ph.D., 1971). His career in energy and environment began in 1970, when he started as a geological research scientist for the Canadian government. Over five decades, this has been followed by assignments in international space law, energy and environmental policy, oil and gas market regulation, and market liberalization. From 1985-88, he was Assistant Deputy Minister of Energy Commodities, responsible for federal policy advice in that field, as well as on the Canada-USA Free Trade Agreement. In 1989 he became Director of the Policy Office of the International Energy Agency at the OECD in Paris, leading teams through national or global conflicts like the first Gulf War. In 1996, he joined TOTAL’s strategic and business development group, opening a Canadian office in Calgary a short time later. In the time since, he has been Director of the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies, an advisor and senior VP for Statoil/Equinor, and currently, president of KIMACAL Energy Strategies, Ltd.

Now, he is an Executive Fellow at the School of Public Policy, and an Energy Research Advisor to the VP of Research at the University of Calgary. He advises governments, industry and universities on strategy and environmental, social and governance performance, as well as being an occasional media commentator on energy policy, oil markets and geopolitics. In 2018 he was appointed to advise the Alberta government on curtailment to address the extreme heavy oil price differentials seriously affecting Alberta’s economy. He has served on the boards of two technology start-ups, DAVNOR Water Treatment Technologies Ltd. and Switchable Solutions Inc., as well as on non-profit boards.

Lance is a Strategy Partner with Ernst & Young (EY), and has provided business consulting services for more than 130 projects spanning five continents. Lance has worked with leading energy and utility companies, regulators, governments, LNGs, and more, bringing a broad set of strategic skills and experiences to help clients solve some of their most complex problems. An expert in trends, his experience includes all aspects of corporate and business unit strategy and planning, market assessments, and integration and management, in areas such as finance, IT, supply chain, operations and capital projects. He has authored 27 articles and papers on a variety of business topics, with several published in industry magazines and newspapers, and has been the keynote presenter at numerous industry conferences.

Lance has an undergraduate degree with Hons from Exeter University and an MBA with Distinction from Cardiff Business School, and many other professional certifications. He has attended Stanford and MIT, is a guest lecturer for the Haskayne School of Business’s MBA program on strategy, relationship management and management consulting, and acts as an Executive Research Fellow for the school.

Katie leads Business Development for Industry Diversification for Spartan Controls, an industrial technology company with process automation, valve, measurement and control solutions in Western Canada.  In addition, Katie is the Executive Director of Young Women in Energy (YWE), a non-profit Alberta organization of more than 4,500 members that provides voice, presence, development, and leadership of women working in the energy industry. In this role, she has presented to the Senate of Canada’s ENEV Committee on Bill C-69 and was featured on ARC Energy Research Institute’s ARC Energy Ideas podcast. She is a founding board member of Axis Connect, a non-profit acting as a collaboration and resource hub for women-focused initiatives and organizations, and in 2019, she was recognized by She Innovates Alberta, UN Women’s first pilot chapter of its Global Innovation Coalition for Change (GICC). Katie is currently pursuing her MBA in Executive Management at Royal Roads University.

James Douglas McNeill (Doug) is the current President of JKT Resources Ltd., with a diverse and distinguished career in the energy sector since the early 1980s. His experience includes oil and gas fieldwork, design engineering, R&D in manufacturing, overseas, business development, joint ventures, and corporate strategy, where he has held several senior level positions. Taking a step back in December 2017 from equipment manufacturing, he has pursued projects supporting food, energy and community independence in geothermal, food production and energy storage innovation. He has served on multiple boards, like PSAC (Petroleum Services Association of Canada) and CPI (the Canadian Petroleum Institute) at presently serves on private company, professional and association Boards. Doug holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Oregon State University, several leadership development certifications. He is a Professional Engineer under APEGA with an Institute of Corporate Directors designation from the Rotman Directors Education Program through the Haskayne School of Business, U of C. Doug has also given his time to various community-based programs over the years like the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, the Calgary Petroleum Club, Canadian Petroleum Institute, Mustard Seed, Heart and Stroke, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s and several others.

Apoorv, with a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering, is the founder and CEO of the start-up Carbon Upcycling Technologies (CUT), a globally-recognized company that is commercializing a process to convert CO2 emissions into useful filler and product material. Among many numerous energy awards and accolades, he is notably a Forbes 30 Under 30 Energy awardee (2020) and has served on the ACTia (Alberta Cleantech Industrial Alliance) Board of Directors (2017-19). Apoorv is also a 2018 Action Canada Alumni, Canada’s premier youth leadership training program.

Prior to this, Apoorv co-founded TOHL in 2010, a humanitarian logistics start-up conducting water infrastructure projects in undeveloped areas. From 2011-2015, he was Research Manager for zEroCor Technologies, managing more than a dozen projects in collaboration with universities.

Dr. Marie Delorme is CEO of The Imagination Group of Companies, and serves on the National Indigenous Economic Development Board, the Queen’s University Board of Trustees, Donner Canadian Foundation, and The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking. She is also an advisor to two universities, and was named as one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Her long list of awards and recognition includes the Indspire Award in Business and Commerce, the Order of Canada, the University of Calgary Dr. Douglas Cardinal Award, the Alberta Chamber of Commerce Business Award of Distinction, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce Salute to Excellence Award, and Métis Nation Entrepreneurial Leadership Award. Dr. Delorme holds a B.Sc., a M.BA from Queen’s University, and both a Ph. D and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Calgary.

Chad (M.Sc., Environmental Management and Policy, Lund University; B.Comm, University of Alberta) is the award-winning Lead Animator of the Energy Futures Lab and a founding member of The Natural Step Canada team. He regularly writes and delivers presentations on sustainability and social innovation topics, plays a key thought leadership role with such initiatives, and in addition he has provided training and coaching advice for dozens of businesses and communities in Canada and abroad. Among many other recognitions and roles, Chad has been an AIESEC Alumni 40 under 40, and a past national president of AIESEC Canada.

Phil is an advocate for the Indigenous peoples of Canada. A three-term National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, he is known for his calm and charismatic demeanor while opening the lines of communication and bringing people together in a common cause for a better future. Fontaine is the youngest son in an Ojibway family of 12, and has been instrumental in facilitating change and advancement for First Nations people from his first election to chief at just 28 years old. His crowning achievement to date is the residential schools settlement, netting $5.6 billion in individual compensation – the largest settlement in Canadian history, for the largest human rights violation in Canadian history.

Respected at home and abroad, Fontaine attended President Obama’s inauguration, met with Pope Benedict XVI to gain an apology for his people, and raised the Corporate Challenge to Canadian organizations. Any organization seeking leadership advice will benefit from Fontaine’s extraordinary ability to speak from the heart and teach others how to achieve results.

Living in both Spain and Argentina before moving to Canada, David relocated to Calgary as an adult and became very active in organizations based in the city. He began his career in surveying, exploration, engineering procurement, and construction management, before taking on project management and corporate leadership.

David has worked at Encana and Cenovus in a variety of management and specialist roles, and served as advisor to several boards and sub-committees before transitioning to academia. He served as the Academic Chair for the B.Sc.in Construction Project Management at SAIT, the Chairman of the Canadian Coalition for Green Finance, and the Director of Strategic Centre Initiatives at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary. In that time, he oversaw many entrepreneurial and sustainability initiatives and seminars, informed by more than 20 years of experience in oil, gas, and clean technology.

David holds dual undergraduate degrees, a technical diploma, and a dual M.BA focused in global energy management, sustainability, and project management. He is also a Certified Engineering Technologist under ASET.

An accomplished and resourceful professional in the technical and business realms, Alejandro is the Director of Strategic Development for the CECN. With more than 20 years of experience in international multidisciplinary teams, working in office and field environments, Alejandro has vast knowledge in full-cycle energy systems – both petroleum and alternative energy – and a proven ability to guide groups and manage complex projects. Alejandro’s skills in effectively identifying and evaluating technical data related to analysis, cost, forecasts, scheduling and execution are strong, and he has a deep expertise in development strategy for energy systems while integrating the application of practical engineering principles and entrepreneurial thinking for risk-managed value creation. Alejandro holds a B.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering and a M.Sc. In Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.

Holding a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Business Management, complete with over 15 years’ experience supporting and coordinating complex initiatives, Chanelle McLeod is the Director of Business Development for the CECN. Proficient at developing and maintaining smooth operations in challenging environments, Chanelle has a proven legacy of building and retaining strong stakeholder relationships with the utmost confidence from all involved parties. Her work is defined by exceptional communication and organizational skills, a strong attention to detail, and a highly efficient approach to office systems, workflows and processes.