ENERGYCONFERENCE18 - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager
- Senior Manager, Advanced Energy Centre, MaRS Discovery District
Aisha Bukhari is the Senior Manager leading the Energy Systems Practice for the Advanced Energy Centre at MaRS.
Aisha is passionate about clean energy, innovation, and social justice. She spent the formative part of her career at Toronto Hydro where she worked in both engineering and business development roles. In her engineering role, she led development of smart grid solutions for the distribution grid. In her business development role, she worked on the mergers and acquisitions portfolio. Aisha is co-founder of an edtech startup, Attollo Social Enterprise. She also serves as an executive board member and director for Women in Renewable Energy (WiRE), a non-profit organization aimed at advancing the role and recognition of women in the energy sector.
Aisha holds a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto, a master's degree in electric power engineering from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
Job Titles:
- President, Future Energy Enterprises, LLC
- Senior Consultant to the Illinois Commerce Commission NextGrid
Annette has over twenty years' experience providing legal, regulatory, procurement, and management support to energy efficiency and renewable energy programs in California, the Midwest, and internationally. She has over fifteen years' experience leading and managing large, multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder efforts in the Clean Energy space, including collaboratives, working groups, advisory councils and non-profit governance boards. Representative engagements include:
California Technical Forum (Cal TF): Annette launched and facilitates the Cal TF, a technical collaborative comprised of over 30 technical experts who review and affirm technical information related to California's Integrated Demand Side Management portfolio. The Cal TF was created in 2014 by a broad group of stakeholders and is funded by participating California program administrators (utilities).
Illinois Energy Efficiency Stakeholder Advisory Group: For ten years (through 2017), Annette was the lead facilitator for the successful, long-standing Illinois Stakeholder Advisory Group, a forum authorized by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to build consensus and make recommendations to the ICC the on the state's energy efficiency policies, portfolio and program design, administration, implementation, and evaluation.
Illinois NextGrid Project: Annette is Senior Consultant to the Illinois Commerce Commission NextGrid study, a broad collaborative relating to Illinois' grid modernization efforts.
Low Income Advisory Committee: In 2017, Annette launched and leads the Illinois Low Income Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee, a broad-based group of community-based organizations and program implementers. The group was convened by the Illinois utilities to advise on low-income program design, implementation and evaluation.
Earlier in her career, Annette practiced law in California and litigated matters before the CPUC. Annette has a JD from studies at Harvard University and New York University, a Master of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from Wellesley College.
> BACK TO SPEAKERS & BIOS
Job Titles:
- President and Chief Executive Officer of Toronto Hydro Corporation
Anthony Haines is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Toronto Hydro Corporation and its subsidiaries, one of the largest urban electricity distribution companies in North America. He is a seasoned leader with over 30 years of experience in both natural gas and electricity, which brings a unique perspective to the Canadian energy industry.
Mr. Haines currently participates on the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) Market Renewal Panel. He is the past Chair of the Ontario Energy Association (OEA) and Canadian Electricity Association (CEA). He has received a number of industry accolades, including the Electricity Distributors Association's Chair's Citation Award, OEA's Leader of the Year, Corporate Responsibility Association's North America CEO of the year (first Canadian to receive) and Energy Council of Canada's 2014 Canadian Energy Person of the Year.
In addition to his commitment to the energy industry, Mr. Haines is actively involved in philanthropic activities. He is most proud of his fundraising efforts for the Ross Tilley Burn Center at Sunnybrook Hospital, the largest and most advanced burn treatment centre in Canada. Mr. Haines is responsible for Toronto Hydro's charity golf tournament, which has raised millions of dollars for electrical injury rehabilitation research.
Job Titles:
- Partner, KPMG Canada & Global Sector Head
Anurag has over 15 years combined experience in project and corporate finance with extensive experience in structuring projects and complex transactions in the energy and infrastructure development sectors. Prior to KPMG, he was a founding member of the Project Finance group at Infrastructure Ontario (IO), a Crown agency dedicated to delivering major (>$100 million) public infrastructure projects. Anurag has significant experience in the energy sector having worked at Ontario Power Generation in Toronto and TXU Energy in Dallas in a variety of roles such as trading, structured transactions, quantitative analysis and credit risk.
In these sectors, he has extensive experience advising developers, investors and institutional groups on transaction structuring, debt and equity raising, deal selection, M&A, and regulatory issues. In his global infrastructure role, Anurag has access to our major energy practices and a network of contacts worldwide.
Anurag has significant experience advising governments on their infrastructure and energy programs - e.g. UK Government (£110bn Electricity Market Reform program for Low Carbon Power), ASEAN Governments (Japan - METI, Taiwan -Energy), DRC, South Africa, India, etc.
Anurag's experience with infrastructure and energy transactions include toll roads, social accommodation (Justice, Healthcare, Detention Centers), water and waste water, and power generation (natural gas, coal, solar, wind, hydro, nuclear), transmission, and distribution.
Job Titles:
- President and CEO of Alectra Inc
Brian is the President and CEO of Alectra Inc., the largest municipally-owned utility by customer base in Canada.
Brian has been recognized on several occasions for his industry leadership. In 2017, he was presented with the LDC ‘Leader Award' from the MEARIE Group and was a co-winner of the OEA ‘Leader of the Year' Award in 2016. In previous years, he received the ‘Chair's Citation' from the EDA, the Electricity Human Resources Canada ‘Leader of the Year' Award, the ‘Game Changer' Award from the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA), as well as recognition as a ‘Clean50' and ‘Clean16' Champion for leadership in sustainability advancement.
Job Titles:
- Director in the Global Energy Practice at Navigant
- Director, Energy Transformation, Navigant
Craig Sabine is a Director in the Global Energy Practice at Navigant, leads the firm's Energy Transformation solutions team in Canada and is Chair of Navigant's regulatory transformation initiative. Craig is a strategic partner and trusted advisor to Canadian utilities, energy sector organizations, the financial services sector and large energy consumers.
Working with executive management teams, Craig focuses on the strategic market opportunities and regulatory challenges within and across the energy value chain, supporting the public and private sectors in a number of key business areas including, strategic planning, innovation, regulatory, operations and investment decision making.
Craig is a recognized leader in the analysis of energy markets across the country and in sustainable development and infrastructure planning. Key recent projects have included supporting development of Ontario's Long Term Energy Plan through its fuels market analysis, decisions regarding Manitoba Hydro's $25 billion capital investment plan and as a member of the evaluation committee assessing the procurement of an $900 million combine cycle power plant in Saskatchewan. Craig also advises utility and power generation companies on asset transactions and has supported due diligence efforts on over $10 billion in transactions.
Prior to Navigant Craig was a Senior Manager and Eastern Region Lead of MNP LLP's energy practice and a Manager at ICF Marbek.
Craig earned his MBA from the Queen's Smith School of Business and his BES in Environment and Resources from the University of Waterloo.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Ontario Energy Association
- Vice President, Utilities & Power Operations, Enbridge Inc
Cynthia Hansen was appointed Executive Vice President, Utilities and Power Operations, on February 27, 2017.
Cynthia is responsible for the overall leadership and operations of Enbridge Gas Distribution and Union Gas, two of Canada's largest natural gas utilities, as well as Enbridge Gas New Brunswick, Gazifère and St. Lawrence Gas. She also holds responsibility for the operations of Enbridge's power generating assets, which currently include renewable energy investments in wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric, as well as waste heat recovery facilities and power transmission lines owned in whole or in part by Enbridge.
Cynthia has more than 19 years of experience working in operational, financial and safety leadership roles within Enbridge including President, Enbridge Gas Distribution and Senior Vice President, Operations within Liquids Pipelines. Prior to joining Enbridge, she worked as a Principal for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Cynthia is a member of Calgary-based Enbridge Inc.'s Executive Leadership Team.
Cynthia is Chair of the Ontario Energy Association, and serves on the boards of Energir Inc. and the Energy Council of Canada. She is also a member of the University of Alberta School of Business Advisory Council. In the past, she served on the boards of the Canadian Gas Association, the Canadian Energy Pipelines Association (CEPA), the Alberta Chamber of Resources, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and NorQuest College, among others.
Cynthia was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 by the Women's Executive Network and was recognized as a Canadian Business Leader by Catalyst Canada. Cynthia lives in Toronto with her husband.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Head Canadian Power
- Managing Director, Head of Canadian Power, Utilities and Infrastructure at RBC Capital Markets
David Dal Bello is a Managing Director, Head of Canadian Power, Utilities and Infrastructure at RBC Capital Markets. David is responsible for many of RBC's key relationships in the Canadian Power & Utility sector providing these clients with corporate finance, M&A, equity and debt financing advice. He also is responsible for coordinating RBC's infrastructure relationships with the key Canadian pension and infrastructure funds.
David joined RBC in 1993 and has been involved in the power and utility sector since 1996 when he joined the Canadian Debt Capital Markets team. In 2002, David moved to the Corporate Finance group with RBC, focusing on developing senior relationships with the Canadian power & utility clients.
David is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario's Business School holding an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration (HBA) and also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
David is Chairman of the Havergal College Foundation Board of Trustees, a member of the Board of Governors for Havergal College and coordinates many of the fund raising efforts at RBC Capital Markets for The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).
Job Titles:
- Is Director
- Vice President, Effort Trust Company
David Horwood is Director & Vice President - Residential of The Effort Trust Company, a Real Estate and Financial Services enterprise based in Hamilton, Ontario. Effort Trust develops and manages multi-family communities, retail centers and office/industrial properties throughout Ontario, with a focus on Hamilton-Burlington, Kitchener - Waterloo, and Niagara regions. Currently, the multi-family portfolio of Effort Trust includes over 10,000 dwelling units under David's direction, and another 8 million sf of commercial property.
In addition to management of the residential portfolio, David has functional responsibility for Utilities Management and Risk Management for Effort Trust's entire portfolio of over 15 million square feet of investment property. Currently, David is an Advisor to CryptoGlobal Corp., sits on the Boards of McMaster University and the Federation of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) where he named to their Executive Committee and is a Past Chairman.
Job Titles:
- Counsel, McCarthy Tetrault
- Head of McCarthy Tétrault 's Toronto
George Vegh is the head of McCarthy Tétrault's Toronto energy regulation practice, where he provides advocacy and advisory services to private and public sector clients. George's main focus is on public utility and wholesale market regulation in the energy sector.
Prior to joining McCarthy Tétrault, George was General Counsel of the Ontario Energy Board.
George is a leader in the energy sector, having served as Chair of the Ontario Energy Association and the IESO Market Forum. He currently serves on the OEB Chair's Innovation Advisory Committee, the Toronto Board of Trade Energy Committee, and as Vice-Chair of the Board of the Association of Power Producers of Ontario. He also led a number of industry initiatives, including Task Forces on Distribution Rate Regulation, Infrastructure Renewal, Distributed Generation, and Transmission Connection for Renewable Generation.
George is an Adjunct Professor of Energy Law and Regulatory Governance at the University of Toronto Law School, the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Calgary Law School and at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he is also the Program Director for the Masters' Program in Energy and Infrastructure Law.
Job Titles:
- Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines / Minister of Indigenous Affairs
Greg Rickford was elected as MPP for Kenora-Rainy River in June 2018 and sworn in as Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, and Indigenous Affairs.
Instilled with the values of hard work and public service from a young age, Greg has earned degrees in common and civil law from McGill University, and an MBA from Laval University. Those values brought Greg to the remote First Nations communities of Northern Ontario as a young man where he worked as a nurse and lawyer. Greg's experience led him to understand the issues and opportunities that face the Kenora-Rainy River riding. As a federal Member of Parliament, Greg made improving economic and infrastructure conditions for First Nations in the area one of his core goals.
He was the first Conservative MP ever elected in the 84-year history of the Kenora riding. In 2013, Greg was appointed to Cabinet as the Minister of State (Science and Technology) and the Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor). In 2014, he was promoted to the Minister of Natural Resources while retaining his responsibilities for FedNor. Previously, Greg had served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor), and for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor).
Between 2015 and 2018, Minister Rickford practiced law and served as a strategic advisor to a number of companies and organizations specializing in natural resources, indigenous affairs, health, and legal matters. Greg and his wife Janet have two daughters, Abigail Mae and Poppy Kate.
Job Titles:
- Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
The Honourable Rod Phillips was sworn in as Ontario's Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks on June 29, 2018.
Minister Phillips, MPP for Ajax, assumes his current role following a successful business career. Most recently, he was Chair of Afiniti Canada, a global artificial intelligence company, and Postmedia, Canada's largest news media company.
The minister is a former President and CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, and of Shepell.fgi, a Canadian-based international employee health company. As well, he was volunteer chair of CivicAction, which brings together business, labour and community leaders to address challenges facing the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President & Board Member, Concentric Energy Advisors
- Senior Vice President at Concentric Energy Advisors Inc
James M. Coyne, Senior Vice President at Concentric Energy Advisors Inc., provides financial, regulatory, strategic and litigation support services to clients in the electric power and natural gas industries. Drawing upon his extensive energy-related background, he regularly advises utilities, generating companies, public agencies and private equity investors on the purchase, sale and investment in energy facilities. This work includes development of business strategies, investment evaluations, and the provision of expert opinions on matters pertaining to rate policy, valuation, capital costs, fuels and power markets. In addition, he focuses on the development of renewable and wind energy resources.
Prior to CEA, Mr. Coyne worked in senior consulting and financial advisory positions for FTI Consulting, Arthur Andersen, and Navigant Consulting. He also managed the corporate planning function for an integrated oil company, and served in regulatory and policy positions in Maine and Massachusetts. He has testified before jurisdictions in California, New Jersey, Maine, Texas, Vermont and Wisconsin. Mr. Coyne holds a BS in Business from Georgetown University and an MS in Resource Economics from the University of New Hampshire.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner, Utilities & Digital Operations, PricewaterhouseCoopers
James Strapp is a Partner in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Power and Utilities Consulting Practice, based in Toronto. He brings over 25 years of experience consulting to the energy and utility industry around the world, with particular focus on the introduction of disruptive technologies.
His expertise includes competitive electricity markets, smart metering, smart grid, GIS, advanced analytics, mobile solutions, program planning, and operational strategy.
Prior to rejoining PwC in January 2018, James was the global leader of IBM's Energy & Utilities consulting practice, given him the opportunity to work with a diverse set of utilities around the globe, including the US, Western Europe, Japan, China, Malaysia and Australia.
In Ontario, James has held lead roles in province's energy transformation, including the introduction of wholesale and retail competition, the implementation of smart meters, and some of the province's most innovative initiatives in smart grid, dynamic rates and, more recently, the application of artificial intelligence.
With PwC, James leads the firm's efforts in Digital Operations across asset-intensive industries, including utilities. His focus is on the effective approaches to applying digital approaches and disruptive technologies in a complex environments addressing safety, security, privacy and risk.
Job Titles:
- Business Executive
- President & CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade
- President & CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade
Jan De Silva is a seasoned international business executive with a proven track record of excelling in on-the-ground leadership roles.
As President & CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade, Jan is spearheading efforts to make Toronto one of the most competitive and sought-after business regions in the world.
Prior to joining the Board, Jan spent 14 years in leadership roles in Asia. She served as CEO of Sun Life Financial's Hong Kong subsidiary and Mainland China joint venture. She co-founded and was CEO of Retail China Limited, which was acquired in 2010. She later served as Dean of Ivey Asia, leading the Hong Kong campus and Asia operations of Ivey Business School of Western University.
Highly respected for her business advocacy and government engagement efforts, Jan has been named one of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women, a Woman of our Time by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post and made the Canadian Board Diversity Council's inaugural Diversity 50 list. She currently sits on the boards of Intact Financial Corporation, Blue Umbrella Limited and the Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance.
Job Titles:
- Energy Economist
- Managing Director, Power Advisory LLC
Jason Chee-Aloy is a senior energy professional with over 20 years of experience in regulated and competitive energy markets. Mr. Chee-Aloy has been the Managing Director of Power Advisory LLC since September 2010. Power Advisory LLC is a leading electricity management consulting firm specializing in market analysis, business strategy, generation, transmission and energy storage development and procurement, policy development, regulatory and litigation support, contract management support, wholesale market design, project feasibility assessment and technical due diligence. Power Advisory LLC has offices in Boston, Calgary, and Toronto. Mr. Chee-Aloy is based in the Toronto office and is presently acting for multiple Canadian and non-Canadian clients with business and policy interests across Canada and the United States, within the areas of generation development and investment opportunities, transmission development, energy storage development, market assessment and intelligence, business strategy, wholesale electricity market design, and energy policy development.
Prior to joining Power Advisory LLC, Jason was the Director of Generation Procurement at the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) from August 2005 to August 2010. Prior to joining the OPA, Mr. Chee-Aloy worked for Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) from November 1999 to July 2005 where he was closely involved with restructuring Ontario's wholesale electricity market through development and implementation of market design and IESO market surveillance initiatives.
Mr. Chee-Aloy has also worked as an Energy Economist, in the public and private sectors, analysing competitive electricity and natural gas markets.
Mr. Chee-Aloy holds an M.A. in Economics and graduated from York University and the University of Toronto.
Job Titles:
- Leader in Ontario
- President & CEO, Independent Electricity System Operator
- President and Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Electricity System Operator
Peter Gregg is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Electricity System Operator. Under Mr. Gregg's leadership, the IESO oversees the safe and reliable operation of Ontario's bulk electrical system and market, the province's energy planning and procurement, and works with its partners to guide conservation efforts across the province.
Mr. Gregg is an experienced leader in Ontario's electricity sector. As the President and CEO of Enersource from 2014 to 2016, he was integral in the merger of four of Ontario's largest local distribution companies to create Alectra Energy Solutions Inc., the second largest municipally-owned utility in North America. Prior to this, Mr. Gregg served as COO at Hydro One Networks, overseeing effective power distribution across Ontario. Throughout his career, he's been recognized for his leadership abilities and in 2015 and 2016 received the Ontario Energy Association's "Leader of the Year Award".
Mr. Gregg currently serves on the Council of Independent System Operators and Regional Transmission Organizations, which supports sustainable and reliable electric power delivery to millions of consumers across the continent. He is on the Member Representatives Committee of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, the Ontario Energy Network, the Canadian Electricity Association and the Electrical Safety Authority, where he chairs the Audit Committee.
Mr. Gregg received a Masters of Business Administration from the Ivey School of Business and holds the Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D (Certified Director) designation.
Job Titles:
- Director - Climate Policy and Analysis / Strategy and Policy Department / Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Ray Williams just recently retired from Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), where he was the Director of Climate Policy and Analysis. Mr. Williams's scope included federal and state climate policy and analysis covering both the electric and gas businesses. In 2017, Ray was extensively engaged in the development of AB 398, the state's cap-and-trade extension bill, and its companion bill, AB 617, addressing air quality in local communities. Ray was also on the board for PG&E's ClimateSmart program, a voluntary offsets program to help PG&E's customers achieve zero-GHG electricity consumption.
Mr. Williams joined PG&E in 1981. Prior to his current position, Mr. Williams held a wide variety of positions at PG&E, including electric supply planning and operations, corporate planning, retail electric and gas rate design, gas transmission rate cases, and designing and running RFOs for new generation. He has supported PG&E through electric and gas industry restructuring, in its bankruptcy resulting from the failure of electric industry restructuring, and in the development of its long-term electric procurement processes.
Mr. Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the Clark University, Worcester MA and a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Stanford University.
Job Titles:
- Contributor to EnergyInsider.Ca
- Partner, Aird & Berlis LLP
Ron Clark is a partner and a member of Aird & Berlis LLP's Corporate/Commercial Group and Energy Team. Ron's corporate/commercial practice includes advising corporations, municipalities and individuals on commercial agreements, asset and share purchase transactions, mergers and acquisitions, secured lending transactions.
Ron's energy practice involves counselling stakeholder groups, retailers, distributors and generators on legislative and policy matters relating to electricity markets. He has been retained in connection with power procurement arrangements, development of generation and cogeneration facilities and the Ontario government's clean energy supply and renewable energy supply RFPs and contracts. He has been involved in electricity restructuring in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Albania, Macedonia and the Regional Southeast European market. He has also chaired the Ontario Energy Association's Task Force on Ontario's proposed electricity legislation. Ron is a co-author of Energy Regulation in Ontario: Electricity (Lexis/Nexis) and has been recognized as a leading lawyer in Energy by The Legal 500 Canada, Chambers Canada: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business, Legal Media Group's Guide to the World's Leading Energy and Natural Resource Lawyers and The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory.
Ron is a contributor to EnergyInsider.ca, Aird & Berlis LLP's blog on issues related to energy regulation.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Professional Accountant
- President & CEO, Union Gas Limited
Steve Baker is president of Union Gas Limited.
Baker brings a wealth of financial, business development, marketing and customer service experience to the role, which he assumed in January 2012.
Baker joined Union Gas in 1989 and has held a number of senior management positions in regulatory, finance and marketing over the course of his career. Prior to his current role, he served as vice president and treasurer of Spectra Energy Corp. He also previously served as vice president of business development - storage and transmission for Union Gas, managing the business development activities for storage and transmission as well as gas supply acquisition and planning, product and service development, customer support, system planning and capacity management.
Baker is the current chair of the Canadian Gas Association.
Prior to joining Union Gas, Baker was an accountant with Clarkson Gordon (Ernst & Young). During his four years with Clarkson Gordon, he worked in audit and tax and served a variety of corporate clients.
Baker is a chartered professional accountant and a certified management accountant. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in honours chartered accountancy studies from the University of Waterloo in 1986 and his Master of Accounting from the University of Waterloo in 1987. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and The Society of Management Accountants of Ontario.