Today, the Honourable Siobhan Coady, Minister of Natural Resources, welcomed the new permanent board of directors to the Oil and Gas Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador. The appointments were made through the Indepentent Appointments Commission process and are effective immediately.
Members include, Heather Jacobs (chair), Bernard Collins, Charles Randell, Wayne Chipman and Pierre Tobin, who contributed to the interim board. New members are Leslie Grattan, Richard Daw, Shelly Leighton and Jennifer Warren. These individuals represent a broad range of experience and skills including finance, engineering, geoscience, business and legal.
The Oil and Gas Corporation works directly with the Department of Natural Resources and plays a lead role in supporting priorities identified in Advance 2030, particularly driving exploration and enhancing the local supply chain. The corporation will help to accelerate growth and opportunities in our petroleum industry to help position this province as a globally preferred location for oil and gas development – returning significant value to the people and economy of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Biographies for the board members can be found in the backgrounder below.
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“We are pleased to appoint the permanent board of directors of the Oil and Gas Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador and thank them for their contribution. I would also like to thank outgoing members of the interim board of directors for their work. The Oil and Gas Corporation will help to realize our plan for growth in this province’s oil and gas sector and delivers on commitments made in Advance 2030 – positioning our province as an ideal place for global investment.”
Honourable Siobhan Coady
Minister of Natural Resources
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Learn more
Provincial Government to Introduce Legislation to Establish a New Oil and Gas Corporation
Advance 2030 – A Plan for Growth in the Newfoundland and Labrador Oil and Gas Industry
Advance 2030 – 2018-19 Implementation Report
Follow us on Twitter: @GovNL and @NR_GovNL
Media contact
Lisa Lawlor
Natural Resources
709-729-5777, 631-8155
Lisalawlor@gov.nl.ca
BACKGROUNDER
Heather Jacobs, QC (Chair)
Heather M. Jacobs, QC, has been a member of the interim Board of Directors of the Oil and Gas Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador since it was appointed in August 2019. She also was a member of the Nalcor Board in her government capacity and independently upon retirement for one year. She served as Deputy Minister of the Department of Justice and Public Safety from September 2015 until 2018. Ms. Jacobs served as Assistant Deputy Minster in the Department of Justice and Public Safety from June 2006 to August 2015. Ms. Jacobs managed the Government Services Unit within the Civil Division of the Department of Justice from January 2002 to June 2006, and served as a solicitor in the Civil Division from 1988 to 2001. Ms. Jacobs received her Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from Memorial University in 1984 and Bachelor of Laws degree from York University (Osgoode Hall) in 1987. Ms. Jacobs was appointed Queens Counsel in 2015 and has been a practicing member of the Bar of Newfoundland and Labrador since 1988.
Bernard J. Collins
Bernard J. Collins is the Chairman and former President of PF Collins. Established by his grandfather in 1921, Mr. Collins joined the family business after receiving his post-secondary education. Tasked with developing PF Collins’ involvement in the emerging offshore petroleum industry, under his leadership the company grew from a small customs brokerage firm into a modern and progressive integrated logistics provider employing over 100 professionals in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Alberta. For his leadership in Atlantic Canada’s offshore petroleum industry, Mr. Collins has received numerous recognitions, including the NOIA Outstanding Contribution Award (2005) and the Gardiner Centre Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2012). He has been listed among Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 50 CEOs, named an Atlantic Region finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year and inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame (2015).
Mr. Collins has been involved with many organizations throughout his career, including the Canadian Red Cross, Royal St John’s Regatta Committee, Junior Achievement, Health Care Foundation and the Flight 491 Memorial Fund. Mr. Collins holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from St. Francis Xavier University.
Leslie Grattan FRCGS
Leslie Grattan is the owner of Leslie Grattan and Associates Inc. which offers access to a wide range of environmental consulting services. The company has a specific focus on environmental planning, environmental and socioeconomic assessment, effective community engagement and monitoring associated with major resource projects. The company also has experience with offshore emergency response planning, environmental stewardship and integrated coastal and ocean management and recent training in infrastructure risk assessment associated with climate change.
Ms. Grattan has held senior leadership positions in environmental management in the private and public (federal and as a deputy minister, provincial) sectors and offers extensive experience on major projects in offshore oil and gas, hydroelectricity generation, civil construction and aquaculture. Ms. Grattan has also demonstrated success in building highly effective in-house and consultant teams. Her strong communication skills have been sought in consultations, negotiations and in collaboration with the resource sector, industry, regulators and the community. Ms. Grattan is currently Chair of the Oceans Learning Partnership, a founding Advisor/fundraiser with the Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium, Director of the Atlantic Regional Board of the Nature Conservancy Canada, winner of the NEIA 2018 Industry Champion Award and a committee member of the Coastal Zone Canada Association. Ms. Grattan is a Fellow of both the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Women in Science and Engineering NL and is an Honorary Member of PEGNL.
Charles Randell
Dr. Charles Randell began his career with the oil and gas industry in 1981 on seismic survey vessels. That same year he was on the MV Arctic Explorer when it sank off St. Anthony with a loss of 13 crew. He, with the other survivors spent three days in a life raft; thus, he has a rare perspective on offshore safety. His foray into research and development began when, as a technician at C-CORE, his first assignment was trying to blow up icebergs. He went on to earn an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering at Lakehead University, and M.A.Sc and Ph.D. degrees in Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Victoria. The majority of Dr. Randell’s technical work has been satellite-based remote sensing, primarily of ice-prone regions.
Dr. Randell became President and CEO of C-CORE in 2006 and led the corporation in 100 per cent revenue growth, 50 per cent personnel growth and expansion across the country. In 2012, Dr. Randell was named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOs, and in 2014 he was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He retired from C-CORE in April 2017 and now consults through his company, Magellan Consulting Ltd.
Wayne Chipman
Wayne Chipman spent over 20 years with the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board in the Resource Management Department and in the position of Chief Conservation Officer. He was responsible for coordinating reservoir engineering, petrophysical and measurement and production reporting activities, which included discovered reserve and resource assessments, production forecasting, economic analysis and administering resource management provisions of the legislation. Mr. Chipman was also key in setting up the Oil and Gas Division of Nalcor Energy, and from 2007 to 2011 was Manager of Oil and Gas with the corporation. In 2013, Mr. Chipman was awarded NOIA’s Outstanding Contribution Award in recognition of his contribution to the oil and gas industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Richard Daw
Richard J Daw, FCPA.FCA.CMC was a partner with Deloitte for almost 30 years where he practiced as a chartered accountant. During his practice with Deloitte he was an advisor to contractors for the Hibernia Gravity Based Structure and topsides on tax and organizational matters. He also advised Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro on oil partnership tax structures. After retirement, Mr. Daw became an Executive in Residence with Memorial University’s Faculty of Business and a founding member of the Institute of Corporate Directors – Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter. He was also the Vice-Chair of the Audit Committee and the Chair of the HR Committee with the Canada Revenue Agency Board of Management from 2010 to 2016. Mr. Daw served as the Vice Chair and Director of the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation from 2008 to 2014 where he advised management and provided fiduciary governance. Mr. Daw is a member of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Atlantic Canada and the Association of Chartered Professional Accountants of Newfoundland and Labrador and currently serves as independent director on the board of Muskrat Falls Corporation and on the Advisory Board for Memorial University’s Faculty of Business Administration.
Pierre Tobin
Pierre Tobin spent much of his career as a public servant with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and held several executive positions including Assistant Deputy Minister of Industrial Benefits, Assistant Secretary to Cabinet for Economic Policy and Associate Deputy Minister of Energy. During his career in the public service, Mr. Tobin served on a number of boards including those for Bull Arm Site Corporation, Canadian Centre for Marine Communications and Memorial’s Genesis Center. Following his retirement from the public service, Mr. Tobin worked for several years in the oil and gas sector with Wood Group and WorleyParsons. Mr. Tobin is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Dairy Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador and the School Milk Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. Mr. Tobin holds undergraduate degrees as well as a Master of Business Administration from Memorial University.
Shelly Leighton
Shelly Leighton graduated from University of New Brunswick in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science and Engineering in Geodesy and Geomatics and went on to graduate from Memorial University in 2015 with her Masters in Oil and Gas Engineering. Ms. Leighton has spent a number of years working in the offshore oil and gas industry as well as on heavy civil projects in Newfoundland and Labrador. She has worked as an offshore surveyor, data processor and project manager for construction support projects worldwide. Ms. Leighton currently is the owner and CEO of Advanced Access Engineering – an engineering firm specializing in unmanned vehicles, both in air and in water. In addition, Ms. Leighton is an instructor with the School of Ocean technology with the Marine Institute and Chair of the Ocean Mapping Program. Ms. Leighton is also a Commissioned Canada Lands Surveyor and is involved in a number of initiatives with the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (ACLS).
Ms. Leighton is an advocate for women in STEM and regularly acts as a role model for other young women interested in science and technology careers. Being a professional in science and technology industry, she has spoken at a number conferences, most recently the Women in Engineering breakfast at the Oceans ’19 Conference in Seattle, Washington.
Jennifer Warren
Jennifer Warren graduated from Memorial University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Commerce and in 2004 became a Chartered Professional Accountant through the Atlantic School of Chartered Accountancy. Throughout her career, Ms. Warren has served in progressively senior roles with a number of high profile companies including Deloitte, Voisey’s Bay Nickel, Fortis Inc., Nalcor, RSA Canada and most currently she is the Director, Compliance and Governance with Johnson Insurance.
Ms. Warren has over 16 years’ experience in finance, risk and compliance for large, complex and Crown corporations. She has extensive experience in the energy and natural resource sectors, as well as highly regulated industries. Her broad range of experiences and skills include, financial management and reporting, regulatory compliance, corporate governance, internal controls and risk management.