MY BACKGROUND:

After being called to the bar in 1993, I practiced as a litigator for five years before obtaining my MBA.  As part of the MBA program, I did an internship with Alberta Energy Company Ltd., which ultimately led to a full time position at AEC International.

At AEC International, I was introduced to international Oil & Gas law and Mergers & Acquisitions while providing legal support for new country entries, including Australia, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.  In addition, I managed disputes that arose in these regimes, including disputes with the host governments and joint venture partners.

Following the merger that created Encana Corporation, I served in various roles within the legal group at EnCana, including Senior Counsel, supporting major offshore developments in the Gulf of Mexico, UK North Sea and the East Coast of Canada. Subsequently, I become Senior Counsel Corporate Acquisitions and Divestitures and then finally, took over responsibility of EnCana’s corporate insurance program, in the capacity of Associate General Counsel, Insurance. 

Upon the split of EnCana Corporation, I assumed the position of Vice-President, Financial & Enterprise Risk at Cenovus Energy Inc., where I designed and implemented the inaugural corporate risk management framework for financial risk, market risk, enterprise risk, credit, corporate insurance and litigation claims management.

In 2011, I returned to a legal role support for international Oil & Gas when I accepted the role of Director, Legal Affairs, Exploration & Production at Suncor Energy Inc. In this role, I was responsible for providing legal support for all of the jurisdictions where the Exploration & Production business unit had operations, including Onshore North America, East Coast Canada, UK North Sea, Norway, Libya and Syria. This included responsibility for litigation management and reporting.  I continued in this role until the dissolution of the Exploration & Production business unit.

EDUCATION AND DESIGNATIONS

Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators 2024

Canadian Risk Management Designation 2006

Master of Business Administration (Finance) 1999

Law Society of Alberta Bar Admission 1993

Bachelor of Laws 1992

Bachelor of Arts (Administrative & Commercial Studies) 1989