Mike Culbert, PETRONAS Canada’s Vice Chairman of the Board, is being recognized by the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce for his 35 years of ethical leadership. The award recognizes individuals for their outstanding personal and professional achievements, commitment to the community and business acumen.

For PETRONAS Canada, Mike’s most notable accomplishment in his long and distinguished career is his role as one of three founding partners of Progress Energy, the predecessor to PETRONAS Canada, and his long-term leadership from 2004 to 2016 as President & CEO of our company.

Mike was presented with the Distinguished Business Leader Award at a gala on June 19, where he shared his perspective on leadership, ethics and the industry.

• More information on Mike’s career and personal story can be found here.
• View Mike's corporate biography

Pictured with Top Notch's new grader is (from left to right), PETRONAS' Jennifer Roe; owners of Top Notch Oilfield Contracting Ltd., Boomer Desjarlais & Judy Desjarlais; and PETRONAS’ Lloyd Hayden)

Extreme weather and heavy equipment take a real toll on the vast network of roads that lead to our facilities in northeast B.C. Keeping these unpaved roads free of axel-breaking potholes and snow is a year-round activity.

As part of an ongoing effort to support local First Nation businesses, PETRONAS signed a road maintenance agreement with Top Notch Oilfield Contracting Ltd, a First Nation-owned business, in the fall 2017. The road maintenance work guaranteed in the agreement with Top Notch allowed them to borrow the capital needed to buy a new grader.

The idea to strike up an agreement to assist Top Notch in acquiring their equipment came from our Road Maintenance team. The network of roads in our operating region is divided into seven areas. Two of those areas are now being maintained under contracts with First Nation businesses.

In addition to setting up agreements for road maintenance work in these areas, PETRONAS is also taking a lead role in training First Nations members to operate grading equipment. Since the training program began, we've trained 10 operators from nearby First Nations communities with more training planned for members of Blueberry River First Nations so they can become qualified grader operators for Top Notch.

In May 2018, Top Notch invited PETRONAS to attend an event to celebrate the recent arrival of their new Finning grader, which is continually busy keeping potholes at bay. Top Notch’s experience working with us has paved the way for them to successfully pick up additional road maintenance work with other companies in the area.

Nothing quite beats the feeling of seeing young people connect with and learn valuable life lessons from their idols.

In 2018 we began a five-year commitment to provide mentorship opportunities to almost 500 students in Fort St. John and the surrounding area when we partnered with Classroom Champions, an organization that connects world-class athletes with classrooms of students eager to learn through interactive activities led by inspiring role models.

Olympic athlete Alysia Rissling makes a strong impression with students participating in the Classroom Champions program.

In our first year, we started with students in five Fort St. John classrooms in Grades two and six. Classroom Champions paired those students with Canadian bobsleigh athlete extraordinaire Alysia Rissling. Through monthly video lessons, live video chats and in-class visits, Alysia helped students build skills such as perseverance, effective goal setting, positive leadership and embracing diversity.

As we embark on our second year, we’re expanding our participation in the program beyond schools in the Fort St. John program in the 2018/19 school year to 15 students from Blueberry River and Prophet River first nations thanks to the introduction of the Classroom Champion Circle program in that area.

Athlete mentor and silver medalist Brigette Lacquette - the first Indigenous member of the Canadian Olympic hockey team who knows a lot about hard work, both on and off the ice – will be working with the students. Brigette, the program organizers and the teachers will incorporate a holistic, tailored approach to learning with a goal of strengthening student relationships with each other and their teachers. We’re looking forward to following along in their successes.

We’re exceptionally proud to be able to partner with a world-class program like Classroom Champions and bring meaningful and lasting learning opportunities to youth in our operating area.

Our President & CEO Mark Fitzgerald sees this speaker series as a great fit for us. “We’re a company that values diversity of thought and believes it makes a business stronger. We’re thrilled at the caliber of speaker we’ve been able to attract. They truly are world class.”

We are part of an exceptional partnership with the University of Calgary and the Haskayne School of Business where once a year we bring an internationally renowned speaker to Calgary to discuss various aspects of the state of the global energy market within the current geopolitical climate. Hosted over lunch, the event brings together business leaders in the Calgary community as well as MBA students from the Haskayne School of Business.  

The series is in its second year of a five-year partnership and has already seen the interest grow from 350 people in attendance to more than 600.

October 5, 2017: Ernest Moniz

The first year of the series featured inaugural speaker Ernest Moniz, former U.S. President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Energy, who provided a provocative and thoughtful look at energy security, climate change and the need for innovation in the energy industry.

November 6, 2018: Harry Tchilinguirian

In the second year, we were fortunate to have Harry Tchilinguirian as the speaker. As Global Head of Commodity Markets Strategy and Senior Oil Market Strategist at BNP Paribas, one of the world’s largest banks, Harry is a recognized authority on the state of oil and energy commodity markets and a frequent commentator on Bloomberg and CNBC. Harry, who gave an outstanding talk, is continually assessing geopolitical climates and international markets including understanding where they are now and predicting where they’re headed.

Michael was appointed Vice Chairman of PETRONAS Canada in November 2016 and will continue to serve on the Board of Directors in a non-executive capacity. Previously, he served as President and CEO of PETRONAS Canada, providing leadership since 2001 from PETRONAS Canada’s recapitalization and growth period through to the PETRONAS acquisition and integration, and subsequent development of Pacific NorthWest LNG integrated project. Michael Culbert has more than thirty years of diverse experience in the oil and gas industry, holding managerial and executive positions with a number of energy companies, including PETRONAS Canada, Pacific NorthWest LNG, Encal Energy and Home Oil. In addition, Michael currently serves on the Board of Directors of Enerplus Corporation. Until November 2016, Michael was a member of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers’ Board of Governors.

Don is an independent Calgary businessman who also serves as the Chairman of Cequence Energy Ltd., and Panorama Mountain Village Inc. Previously, Mr. Archibald held a variety of senior roles with Cyries Energy Ltd., including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and was the President and Chief Executive Officer of both Cequel Energy Ltd. and Cypress Energy Inc. Mr. Archibald has extensive knowledge and experience as a leader in the public oil and gas industry and financial services. Mr. Archibald also serves on the Board of Directors of Serafina Energy Ltd., Spartan Energy Corp., Chinook Energy Inc., Sea NG Corp., WinSport and Palisade Capital Corp. Mr. Archibald holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Commerce degree (with distinction) from the University of Alberta.

Shamsul is the Head, Finance & Risk in Upstream PETRONAS. Having served PETRONAS for more than 20 years, he has been involved in various acquisitions, farming, financing and capital restructuring arrangements. Shamsul has held various positions in PETRONAS including International Operations in Sudan and Iraq. Shamsul holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration majoring in Finance & International Business from University of Malaya and Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Financial Analysis from University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the United Kingdom. He is also fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) and the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA).

Mark is President and CEO of PETRONAS Canada. Previously, he held the role of Senior Vice President, Production & Development at the company. He has more than 27 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, and has held senior executive roles in production, development, operations, strategy and corporate development. His background includes time with large, integrated producers across North America as well as the junior oil and gas sector in western Canada. Mark is a founding Board member for Classroom Champions and also sits on the Board for the Edge School Foundation, a unique learning community where students can pursue academic excellence while striving to reach their full athletic potential.

Tn Hj Zakaria Kasah is the Vice President of LNG Assets, Gas & New Energy Business at PETRONAS. With over 30 years of experience with the company, Zakaria Kasah has held many senior leadership positions, including VP of Group Project Delivery, VP of Technology & Engineering and VP/CEO of Malaysia LNG. He is currently the chairman of various boards in several of PETRONAS’ subsidiaries, such as Dubai, Australia and Egypt, among others, and is a recognized leader in HSE management. In addition to his expertise in the area of LNG, Zakaria Kasah has served as a board member for the Student Development Advisory Council for University Technology PETRONAS. He holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from George Washington University and has completed the Leadership Management program at Henley Business School in the UK.

Chris is currently Vice-Chairman and Director for ARC Financial Corp. where he provides support for the investment team in the areas of strategy and risk management, as well as investment decision-making. He has over 30 years of operating experience in the Canadian upstream oil and gas industry. Mr. Seasons retired from Devon Canada Corp. in June of 2014 where he served as President for over ten years. Previously, he held a variety of operational and management roles with Shell Canada Ltd. and Stampeder Exploration. Mr. Seasons also serves on the Board of Directors of Longshore Resources Ltd., ARC Financial Corp., Serafina Energy Ltd., Boulder Energy, Matrix Solutions Inc., Steelhead Petroleum and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation and was previously the Chairman of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and director of the United Way of Calgary and Area. Mr. Seasons has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University and is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.

Mohd Jukris Abdul Wahab is Vice President, International Assets of Upstream at PETRONAS and sits on several Boards of PETRONAS subsidiaries. He joined the company in 1990 as a Reservoir Engineer and was involved in the development of several offshore oil and gas fields in Malaysia. He has held various senior technical, operational and leadership positions internationally, including Senior Manager of Strategic Planning for PETRONAS’ Petroleum Management Unit (PMU), Executive Assistant to the President and Chairman of PETRONAS Sudan. Most recently, he served as Vice President, Malaysia Assets of Upstream. En Jukris holds a BSc in Petroleum Engineering from Texas Tech University.

Mark was appointed President and CEO in November 2016. Previously, he held the role of Senior Vice President, Production & Development. He has more than 29 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, and has held senior executive roles in production, development, operations, strategy and corporate development. His background includes time with large, integrated producers across North America as well as the junior oil and gas sector in western Canada. Mark is the Chairman of the Board of Governors at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and is on the Board of Directors at the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS). He is also a founding Board member for Classroom Champions, and previously sat on the Board for the Edge School Foundation, a unique learning community where students can pursue academic excellence while striving to reach their full athletic potential.

Kevin was appointed Chief Financial Officer in November 2016. Previously, Kevin was Vice President, Finance responsible for PETRONAS Canada’s financial reporting and compliance, financial risk management and treasury functions. Kevin joined PETRONAS Canada in 2002 and held positions of increasing responsibility including Controller and Treasurer and Manager of Financial Reporting. Prior to joining PETRONAS Canada, he held the position of Senior Manager – Audit at KPMG LLP. Kevin has more than 20 years of experience in the Canadian oil and gas industry and public practice.

James was appointed Vice President, Legal and General Counsel in March 2019. He leads the company’s legal, regulatory, environmental and land departments. In this role, he advises PETRONAS Canada and PETRONAS on a wide variety of corporate, commercial and regulatory matters affecting the company’s operations. James joined PETRONAS Canada in June 2013 as the Director of Legal Services and Corporate Secretary. Prior to joining PETRONAS Canada, James worked at Nexen Inc. in progressively senior legal roles in its International and Corporate divisions, and prior to that with a state-owned energy company in the Middle East and a large Canadian law firm. James has over 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry.

Nicole joined PETRONAS Canada as Vice President, Development & Unconventional Centre of Excellence in September 2017. She leads the exploitation engineering, geoscience, drilling and completions, and mineral land teams. Nicole is accountable for fostering the continuous improvement mindset and best practices required to drive and deliver on the company’s strategy and is responsible for leading the Unconventional Centre of Excellence on behalf of PETRONAS. She is a professional engineer who has held numerous technical and leadership roles in her more than 20 years with BP. Most recently, Nicole was the VP Reservoir Development Regions with accountability for the subsurface work across Canada, Egypt, Algeria, Oman, Indonesia and Australia.

Liz joined PETRONAS Canada as Vice President, External Affairs & Communications in May 2017. She leads the Aboriginal relations, community relations, government relations and communications functions in support of the company’s strategic objectives. Liz came to PETRONAS Canada from Cenovus Energy, where she held a number of increasingly senior roles over a 20-year period with Cenovus and its predecessor companies, Encana and PanCanadian. Most recently, she had the position of Vice President, Communications & Reputation Management, which she held from 2010 to 2017. Her more than 30 years of experience in technical and strategic communications leadership includes eight years as an independent consultant.

Joanne joined PETRONAS Canada as Vice President, Corporate Services in September 2019. She leads the Human Resources, Office Services, Supply Chain, Information Communication Technology and Business Transformation functions with a key focus on processes, systems and integration. She joins PETRONAS Canada from Goldcorp, where she served as Vice President, Supply Chain, and was responsible for supplier management, process development and supplier risks and procurement. She brings over 20 years of experience in Human Resources with a specialty in compensation and has held progressively senior positions at various global organizations in Canada, the US and Europe in a variety of different industries. Joanne has served as the co-Chair of Mining for Miracles, an industry charity in support of the B.C. Children’s Hospital, and as a Board Director for the Arts Club Theatre Company of Vancouver. Joanne holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy (Honours) from Glasgow Caledonian University.

Joe Leonard was appointed Vice President, Production in July 2019. In his role, he leads the production engineering, operations and facilities teams. Previous to his current appointment he was CEO of PETRONAS Australia where he oversaw the company’s interest in the Gladstone LNG project. Joe has been with the company for over 10 years and, prior to his overseas assignment, served as Director of Development. He is a professional engineer with over 19 years of experience and is a demonstrated leader in the exploration, development and production of unconventional natural gas resources.

Aziz was appointed Vice President, Strategy & New Ventures in September 2017. Aziz started his career with PETRONAS more than 30 years ago as a mechanical engineer, and has since held several senior roles in a variety of areas of the business: PETRONAS’ Corporate Strategy Unit, responsible for issues management and strategy development; Gas Business Unit, responsible for strategy and Malaysian domestic gas sales; and PETRONAS Gas Berhad, responsible for day-to-day operation and maintenance of its Centralized Utility Facilities. Most recently, Aziz was appointed Head of Strategic Planning and Ventures for PETRONAS Chemicals Group. Prior, he was Chief Executive Officer of Vinyl Chloride Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of PETRONAS which later became the Chemicals Group. Aziz holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from The George Washington University.