MEDIA RELEASE – April 27th, 2020
WPC Canada announced today three new members joining the national board based in Calgary. These new members represent some of the enormous talent the Canadian industry enjoys and will be instrumental in assisting WPC Canada’s initiative to host the 24th World Petroleum Congress to be held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in the fall of 2023. The World Petroleum Congress is the world’s largest oil & gas forum and trade event, which is held every three years, and which attracts delegates from over 100 countries. Previously held in Calgary in 2000, this event will have an enormous economic impact for the city in excess of $100 million and bring attention to the industry at a particularly important time. The theme for the 24th Congress has yet to be determined but is expected to focus on the transformation the industry is going through including an emphasis of renewable energy sources.
“We are very proud to announce these new board members and the skills and experience that they bring to our organization as we build our team in preparation to host the 24th World Petroleum Congress” said Richard Masson, Chairman of WPC Canada. “These people bring unique and dynamic capabilities that are needed to stage such a major event in Calgary in 2023!”
The new WPC Canada board members are:
Lauren Savoie
Lauren has over 20 years of domestic and international experience in the energy industry where she has worked in facilities, environmental, development, commercial and engineering technical roles. She has extensive experience in project management and managing budgets. Lauren was hired on at Suncor in 2017 as their Manager of Development and Engineering, Renewables where she worked on wind and solar projects. Most recently she took on a new role as Manager, Central Development and leads a team on medium complexity oil sand projects throughout the Wood Buffalo Region. Prior to her work at Suncor, she was Director, Petro Chad Transport, a pipeline company at Glencore E&P Inc. and Director, Asset Management at Caracal Energy Inc. which had assets in Chad Africa. Lauren has a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Victoria and is a registered engineer in the Province of Alberta. In her spare time, you would find her skiing with her family in Fernie BC.
Michael D. Josephson
Michael Josephson has more than 30 years’ experience in the legal and petroleum industries. He is an alumnus of the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and earned commerce and law degrees from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. He was called to the Bar of the Province of Alberta, Canada, in 1989.
Following several years of private law practice with an oil & gas and corporate-commercial law firm in Calgary, Michael joined the international law department of Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd., which became known as Nexen Inc., in 2000. His work with Nexen (now known as CNOOC International) included managing the International Legal group and the Integrity & Compliance group. His work focuses on international energy negotiations, transactions, joint venture arrangements, petroleum operations, and international arbitrations and litigation in connection with investor-state and joint venture disputes. His work in the Integrity & Compliance area included advising on anti-corruption compliance, and overseeing the company’s ethics and compliance policies, procedures, and programs. Michael’s experience includes transactions and petroleum operations in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North America, and South America. He has resided in Nigeria and the United Kingdom on assignments for the company. He is currently based in Calgary, Canada.
David Crawford
David is currently the Vice President and Assistant Secretary-Treasurer of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. Since joining the Board of Trade in 2013, David has led a team of event professionals who deliver outstanding experiences on a regular basis. This includes policy-focused forums on energy, technology, the economy, health care, international trade, and transportation. Additionally, under David’s leadership the Board of Trade has hosted many high profile speakers including Former US President Barak Obama, Prime Ministers Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau, the Premiers of Alberta and British Columbia, Chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations, Former US First Lady Michelle Obama, Former US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Harvard Professor Michael Porter, various Ambassadors and High Commissioners to Canada and many other business, political and community leaders. Previously, he worked at Grant Thornton LLP as the Director of Finance and Operations and as Director in several departments at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. He has more than 15 years of experience in complex event management. This includes a variety of operational roles at nine NFL Super Bowls, five US College Football Playoff National Championships, three Winter Olympic Games, the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup and one Pan American Games.
About the World Petroleum Congress:
The World Petroleum Congress is the world’s premier global oil & gas forum. It attracts the highest-level industry and government leaders from around the world, including Heads of State, Ministers of Energy and CSuite Executives. The triennial Congress attracts delegates from over 100 countries, including 80+ National Delegations, 700 Expert Speakers, 500 CEOs, 800 Media, 400 Exhibiting Companies and more. The 23rd World Petroleum Congress will be held in Houston, Texas, USA December 6-10, 2020 and Canada will actively participate and take up the mantle for the 24th Congress at its closing ceremony.
About WPC Canada
WPC Canada is the Canadian National Committee of the World Petroleum Council (WPC); a non-political, nongovernmental organization accredited by the United Nations. Participating in WPC is critical in keeping Canadian members connected and informed about the worldwide oil and gas industry, and Canada has enjoyed member status since 1957. WPC Canada is part of an international effort promoting an understanding of how the oil and gas sector contributes to sustainable development. The organization continually advances the development of the petroleum industry on a foundation of respect for individuals and communities, ethics and government standards, and world-class technical solutions. Thereby improving people’s lives worldwide and creating value for all stakeholders. WPC Canada won the right to host the 24th World Petroleum Congress after a very close vote in St. Petersburgh, Russia in June 2019. Visit www.wpccanada.com to learn more.
The current Board Members of the WPC Canada are:
Richard Masson – Chair, WPC Canada
Dean Tucker – Vice Chairman, WPC Canada
Brad Trumble – Secretary Treasurer, WPC Canada
Joanna Desjardins – Officer, WPC Executive Committee, 24th WPC Canada Host Representative
Cody Parrish – Chair, Future Leaders
David Crawford – Board Member, WPC Canada
Randy Gossen – Board Member, WPC Canada
Michael Josephson – Board Member, WPC Canada
Ron Laing – Board Member, WPC Canada
Dwain Lingenfelter – Board Member, WPC Canada
Paul Paynter – Board Member, WPC Canada
Lauren Savoie – Board Member, WPC Canada
David Smethurst – Board Member, WPC Canada
Jim McFarland – CPC Member, WPC, Board Member, WPC Canada
For more information:
Richard Masson 403-540-2638
[email protected]
