Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is responsible for the overall governance of the network and as foremost experts in their fields, provide invaluable advice. Its members are from academia, industry, government, and NGOs. Subcommittees of the board include the Audit and Finance Committee, Nominating Committee, Network Development Committee, and Environment Committee.

• Gordon Lambert, Chair

  Executive Advisor, Sustainability & Innovation
  Suncor Energy

  Mr. Gordon Lambert began his career with Imperial Oil Limited where he served for 15 years in Environment, Health and Safety, Planning and business development roles. He then spent two years as Director, Sustainable Development for TransAlta Corporation. He assumed his current role as Vice-President, Sustainable Development for Suncor Energy in 1997. He is involved with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. He is currently on the Boards of the Suncor Energy Foundation and Learning for a Sustainable Future. He is a former Canadian representative on the Joint Public Advisory Committee to the US, Canadian and Mexican Environment Ministers under NAFTA. He currently co-chairs the Coordinating Committee of the Oil Sands Leadership Initiative. Mr. Lambert graduated from the University of Guelph in Ontario with an Honors Bachelor of Science degree. He also graduated from the Ivey Executive Program in 1996.

• Richard Adamson

  Managing Director
  Carbon Management Canada

  For nearly three decades, Richard Adamson has been dedicated to facilitating the commercialization of innovative technologies. Prior to his appointment with CMC, Mr. Adamson played a pivotal role with the Southern Research Institute’s Environment and Energy team, resulting in the Carbon to Liquids (C2L) Development Centre in Durham, North Carolina. He has founded or worked with small and large technology companies in Alberta ranging from lab, environmental remote sensing, and industrial process control instruments through to small-scale combined heat and power systems for which he holds a patent, pioneering a distributed micro-utility business model.

• Dr. Sally Benson

  Director, Global Climate and Energy Project
  Professor, Energy & Resources Engineering
  Stanford University

  Dr. Sally Benson is Director of the Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford University and is also a research Professor in the Department of Energy Resources Engineering in the School of Earth Sciences. Her research group in ERE investigates fundamental characteristics of carbon dioxide storage in geologic formation as a means of climate change mitigation. Prior to joining GCEP, Dr. Benson worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in a number of capacities including Division Director for Earth Sciences, Associate Laboratory Director for Earth Sciences, and Deputy Director for Operations. She was a coordinating lead author on the 2005 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Carbon Capture and Storage. Her graduate work in materials science and mineral engineering was completed at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of over 160 scientific publications and is a member of the American Geophysical Union, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

• Cristian Ches

  PhD Candidate
  Department of Geography, University of Toronto

  Cristian Ches is a PhD candidate in Geography and Environmental Studies in the Department of Geography at the University of Toronto. His research interests are primarily in the areas of climate change and environmental policy, within the broad fields of nature-society (human-environment) relations. His doctoral research focuses on the human dimensions of climate change and more particularly on cities and climate change, adaptation to climate change and science-policy interaction. He holds a B.A.Sc. in Geography and a M.Sc. in Environmental Change and Regional Development from the University of Bucharest (Romania) and an MA in International Business from the Academy of Economics Studies (Bucharest). In addition to his doctoral work, Mr. Ches has been working on projects centered on the following themes: uncertainties associated with decision making in federal environmental assessments, political activity by the oil and gas industry in Canada, and societal conflicts, distributional impacts and governance innovation associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy.

• Dr. John Grace

  Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering
  University of British Columbia

  Dr. John Grace began his career in 1968 as a professor at McGill University in Montreal. He then moved to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver where he served as department head, Dean of Graduate Studies and Acting Director of the Clean Energy Research Centre. Dr. Grace has served as a consultant for various companies in Canada and abroad. He holds a Canada Research Chair and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Canadian Academy of Engineering, Engineering Institute of Canada and Chemical Institute of Canada. He is recipient of numerous awards including the R. S. Jane Award, the major award of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering. He has more than 450 publications, including six books. Dr. Grace graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering. He also graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Doctor of Philosophy degree.

• Dr. Eddy Isaacs

  CEO
  Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions

  Dr. Eddy Isaacs has been instrumental in promoting innovation in energy and environment across Canada. He has served as co-Chair of the Energy Technology Working Group of the Canadian Council of Energy Ministers. Dr. Isaacs is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and currently serves on the Boards of the Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada, NRC Institute for Fuel Cells Innovation and NRC Institute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technology. He has over 70 publications and 6 patents in the energy field. Dr. Isaacs graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Science degree. He also graduated from the University of Alberta with a Doctor of Philosophy degree.

• Dr. Steve Larter (Ex Officio)

  Scientific Director
  Carbon Management Canada

  Dr. Steve Larter is Canada Research Chair and Professor of Petroleum Geology at the University of Calgary. Prior to joining the University of Calgary in 2004, he worked for the Universities of Newcastle and Oslo and, in the 1980s, for Unocal in California. Dr. Larter has broad research interests which range from understanding the phenomenon of biodegradation and predicting fluid property variations in tar sand and heavy oil reservoirs; biogenic gas generation and shale gas and coupling fluid chemistry as part of reservoir simulator history matches; through to studying the microbial life of subsurface petroleum reservoirs. He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society and AAPG distinguished lecturer. He is also CEO of Gushor Inc. and Scientific Director of Profero Energy, two technology companies developing transition technologies to enable society and the oil and gas industry to rapidly migrate to zero carbon emission practices. His degrees are from the universities of Cambridge and Newcastle.

• John LeGrow

  Vice President Oil Sands Strategy, Planning and Business Development
  ConocoPhillips Canada

  John LeGrow began his career with Gulf Canada where he served in various technical, financial and business leadership roles. He served as Manager Director of Gulf’s Netherlands operations between 1997-2001 and became involved in ConocoPhillips’ Oil Sands business in 2002 where he is currently leading the strategic growth planning. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Oil Sands Developers Group, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers Oil Sands Executive Policy Group, the Coordinating Committee for the Oil Sands Leadership Initiative and the Steering Committee for the Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance. He has a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland.

• John Loughhead

  Executive Director
  UK Energy Research Centre

  John Loughhead has been executive director of the UK Energy Research Centre in London since 2004. Prior to that, he served as Vice-President Technology with ALSTOM (Paris) where he was responsible for technology strategy and IP management throughout ALSTOM, a substantial international group of energy and transport equipment businesses. He has worked in research with GEC ALSTHOM (Paris) and was head of the Thermofluid & Energy Division for GEC Engineering Research Centre. He has sat on the UK’s Defence Science Advisory Council Technology Board, on numerous university advisory boards, and has been an expert consultant to the governments of Australia and Chile for energy policy development as well as consultant and assessor to EC on Framework 6 and 7 programmes. Loughhead has a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.Sc. in Heat Transfer Engineering, both from Imperial College. He is a Fellow, Royal Academy of Engineering and an Australian Academy of Engineering Chartered Engineer.

• Dr. Heather MacLean

  Professor, Civil Engineering
  University of Toronto

  Dr. Heather MacLean has served as an associate professor of civil engineering, chemical engineering and public policy at the University of Toronto for twelve years. Her commitment to the University of Toronto has resulted in her supervision of more than 50 postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. She has refereed 37 journal articles and has made 92 technical presentations at universities across Canada, the US and Europe. Dr. MacLean graduated from the Technical University of Nova Scotia in Halifax with a Bachelor of Science degree with distinction in civil engineering. She graduated from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax with a Master in Business Administration degree. She also graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh with a Master of Science degree in engineering and public policy and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in civil engineering and public policy.

• Dr. Edward McCauley (Ex Officio)

  Vice President (Research)
  University of Calgary

  Dr. Edward McCauley began his career with the University of Calgary in 1985. He served as a professor of biological science for 24 years. He then served as Director of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He was also a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at UCSB. In 2003, he co-founded the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Water Research. Dr. McCauley returned to the University of Calgary and became the Vice-President of Research on July 1, 2011. Dr. McCauley is a Fellow of the Royal Society and formerly acted as a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair. He was amongst the first recipients of the NSERC Discovery Accelerator Award. Dr. McCauley graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree. He is also a graduate of the doctoral degree at McGill University and was a postdoctoral fellow at UCSB.

• Geoff Munro

  Chief Scientist
  Natural Resources Canada

  Mr. Geoff Munro was appointed Chief Scientist and Assistant Deputy Minister of the newly formed Innovation and Energy Technology Sector at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) on April 14, 2009. He moves to this new role from his positions as Associate ADM, Science and Policy Integration, and Chief Scientist for NRCan. Mr. Munro came to Ottawa in 2004 to take over the responsibilities of Director General of Science and Programs for NRCan’s Canadian Forest Service. He was previously appointed as Director General of the Canadian Forestry Service – Great Lakes Forestry Centre in Sault Ste. Marie. He joined the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) in 1989. His last position with OMNR was that of Director, Research and Development for the fish, forestry and wildlife programs.Mr. Munro graduated from Carleton University in Ottawa with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. He also attended the Davey Institute in Ohio for additional training in Tree Science, Plant Nutrition and Pest Management.

• Dwight Peters

  President
  Schlumberger Carbon Services

  Mr. Dwight Peters is President for Schlumberger Carbon Services, formed in 2005 to develop and deploy technologies and services specific for the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide. He has been with Schlumberger over 28 years, starting with geophysical and technical assignments in the oilfield. Prior to his appointment as President in 2012, Peters was Americas Business Manager and he represented Schlumberger for all CCS-related activities in North America, including all seven U.S. Department of Energy regional partnerships, Aquistore, Project Pioneer, and CCS Nova Scotia, investigating the technology needs and business opportunities for future carbon sequestration projects. Mr. Peters holds bachelor degrees in both Physics and Mechanical Engineering.

• Dr. Vicky Sharpe

  President and CEO
  Sustainable Development Technology Canada

  Dr. Vicky Sharpe is President and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a Government of Canada initiative whose mission is to help develop and commercialize clean technologies that will strengthen economic and environmental performance in Canada. With over 25-years’ experience, Dr. Sharpe was President of GRI Canada and Astral Group and Vice President of Ontario Hydro. She has chaired both the National Advisory Board on Energy, Science and Technology and the Board of Directors of Clean Air Canada Inc. She is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Alberta Enterprise Corporation, and a founding member of the Steering Committee of the UNEP SEF Alliance. She sits on the Ontario Premier’s Climate Change Advisory Panel and is also Director of the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the Biowaste to Energy for Canada integrated initiative Corp. (BECii). For her work in advancing sustainability and clean capitalism, Dr. Sharpe was recognised as one of the Clean 16, a top spot on Canada’s 2012 Clean 50. Dr. Sharpe holds a B.Sc. Honours in Applied Biology from Bath University, UK, and a PhD in Microbiology and Chemistry from Trent University, UK.

• Richard A. Shaw, QC

  President
  Richard A. Shaw Professional Corporation

  Mr. Richard A. Shaw, QC, is a senior partner in the Business Law Group of McCarthy Tétrault in Calgary. He is also former Chair of the Calgary Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors as well as a former member of its national board of directors. He holds an ICD.D from the Institute. Mr. Shaw’s practice focused on corporate governance, corporate finance, securities, mergers and acquisitions, takeover bids and defences, project financing, directors’ and officers’ liabilities, indemnification and insurance. He works with a variety of organizations and some of his positions include Director of the Inter Pipeline Fund, Governor at Mount Royal University, Governor at the Glenbow Museum, and Director at Mancal Trust. Mr. Shaw graduated from law school at the University of Toronto in 1971 and was admitted to the bar in Ontario in 1973 and in Alberta in 1981.

• Ed Whittingham

  Executive Director
  Pembina Institute

  Mr. Ed Whittingham joined Pembina Institute in 2005. He served as the director of the consulting program for 5 years during which time he led a variety of projects on sustainable energy production and consumption. Mr. Whittingham took over as the executive director of Pembina in 2011. He participates in policy research projects on low carbon transportation policies, carbon capture and storage, cap-and-trade system design and heavy oil extraction. In September, 2011 he was named to Canada’s 2012 Clean50 List which recognizes 50 contributors to sustainable development and clean capitalism in Canada. Mr. Whittingham acts as an advisor to organizations on sustainable energy solutions. He is a faculty member of Leadership Development at The Banff Centre, an advisory board member of the Network for Business Sustainability, and an advisory council member of the Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business at the Schulich School of Business. Mr. Whittingham graduated from York University’s Schulich School of Business with an International Master of Business Administration degree.