AME BC Speaker Series

The AME BC Speaker Series

The AME BC Speaker Series luncheons are held three times per year.

May 10, 2012 - Dr. Don Wright and (*NEW) Mr. Paul Henning
Our final installment for the 2011/2012 speaker series will be held on Thursday, May 10, 2012 at the Sutton Place Hotel Vancouver and will feature Dr. Don Wright, President of the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), where we will learn about the current skilled labour shortage dilemma and how it could be addressed in the future.

Mr. Paul Henning, Vice President, Strategic Projects, Western Canada for Rio Tinto Alcan, will speak about Rio Tinto Alcan's implementation of its $3.3 billion smelter modernization in Kitimat - a major project representative of the labour shortage challenges companies are facing now and into the future.

Click here to download the registration form

The challenge of training, recruiting and retaining human resources is one of the key strategic issues facing B.C.’s rapidly growing mineral exploration & development sector. There are over 10,000 highly skilled and well paid job openings anticipated in the B.C. mineral exploration and mining industry from now until 2020 and nearly 5,000 retirements are expected over the next decade.

Event Details:
Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 pm
Location:  Versailles Ballroom - The Sutton Place Hotel Vancouver 845 Burrard Street Vancouver

Speaker Biographies:

Dr. Don Wright has been the President of the British Columbia Institute of Technology since March 2008.  BCIT is one of B.C.’s largest post secondary educational institutions, with enrolments of 16,000 full time students and 32,000 part time students.

Don’s career has spanned the academic, government and private sectors.  He has taught economics at Harvard University and the University of Saskatchewan. His government service has included positions as deputy minister in the ministries of finance, forests, trade and investment, and education in the Saskatchewan and British Columbia governments. From 1997 to 2001, Don was vice-president with Weldwood of Canada, a forest products company with annual sales in excess of $1 billion. Immediately prior to joining BCIT Don was the principal of Analytica Consulting, which provided advice to public and private sector clients.

Don serves on a number of profit and not-for-profit boards. He is currently the Chair of Polytechnics Canada.   

Dr. Wright holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan, a Masters in Economics from the University of British Columbia, and a PhD in Economics from Harvard University.

Paul Henning became Rio Tinto Alcan’s Vice-President, BC Operations and Strategic Projects Western Canada on May 1, 2008. Under this portfolio Paul manages the business of the Rio Tinto mining & minerals giant in the province of British Columbia which includes one of the largest manufacturing industrial complexes in the province located in Kitimat; one of the worlds finest and largest hydro generating stations in Kemano; and one of the largest reservoir operations in the country located in the central interior of northern BC. In addition to this, Paul is charged to look at all strategic project potential for Rio Tinto Alcan in Western Canada. 

Paul arrived to work in Canada in July 2003 from the United Kingdom where he was the company’s Operations Manager at Lochaber smelter in Scotland. Paul didn’t waste any time in Kitimat, BC before he embarked on the modernization plan to upgrade the existing 282,000 tonnes per year capacity aluminium smelter there to a new state of the art 420,000 tonnes per year capacity smelter. This project, while currently in the early stages of development, once complete will become one of the world’s lowest cost operating smelters and will have reduced its environmental footprint by more than fifty percent. 

Paul was born in the UK and that is where his career with Alcan Inc. began at the tender age of 18 in England’s Lynemouth smelter in 1980. He began as a trainee science technician but quickly advanced through the ranks by pursuing technical and engineering opportunities and in 1993, Paul was promoted to a Manager position. 

Paul also spent career time in the company’s aluminium smelter in Sebree, Kentucky where he was responsible for integrating and facilitating stronger relationships within the organization.  

Paul is an Associate Member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers and has chaired numerous professional events and activities in the community and business areas. He also served on educational councils in the United Kingdom.

Paul has a B. Eng in Engineering Technology (Thermodynamics) from Newcastle Polytechnic and certification / designation in HNC Manufacturing Techniques from Northumbria College, ONC Metallurgy, and ONC Physical Chemistry from Newcastle C.A.T.


2011/2012 Sponsors

AME BC would sincerely like to thank our sponsors of the 2011/2012 Series:

Premiere Sponsors:

                      

           


Our second installment of the 2011/2012 AME BC speaker series event was held on March 22, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency and featured Vancouver-based writer and researcher Vivian Krause, speaking on American Funding of the Environmental Movement in Canada.

Ms. Krause is a Canadian, Vancouver-based writer who has researched the science and the money behind environmental campaigns. Her work has caught the attention of the Prime Minister of Canada and prompted a Senate Inquiry into the Foreign Funding of the Environmental Movement in Canada.

The first installment of the 2011/2012 series was held on November 23, 2011 and featured Ross Beaty, Executive Chairman, Alterra Power Corp. as our guest speaker.

 
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Past Speakers Include:

Business/Finance

  • Ross Beaty, Executive Chairman, Alterra Power Corp.
  • Robert Quartermain, President, CEO and Director, Pretivm Resources Inc.
  • Don Lindsay, President & Chief Executive Officer, Teck Resources Limited
  • Patricia Mohr; Vice-President, Economics and Commodity Market Specialist; The Scotiabank Group, Toronto
  • Geoff Plant, Partner, Heenan Blaikie
  • Geoffrey Burns, President and CEO, Pan American Silver Corp.
  • Wei Shao; Counsel, China Practice; Blake, Cassels and Graydon LLP (Vancouver office)
  • Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, President & CEO, NovaGold Resources Inc. / Don Lindsay, President & CEO, Teck Resources Limited (formerly Teck Cominco Limited) / Curtis Rattray, former Chairperson, Tahltan Central Council
  • Rex McLennan, former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, VANOC

Government

  • Honourable George Abbott, BC Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation; and Gwaans (Beverley Clifton Percival), Member and Negotiator, Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs; and Chair, BC All Chiefs’ Task Force
  • National Chief Phil Fontaine, Assembly of First Nations
  • Honourable Randy Hawes, BC Minister of State for Mining; and the Honourable Pat Bell, BC Minister of Forests, Mines and Lands
  • Hon. Gordon Hogg, former Minister of State for Mining
  • Carole James, Leader of the Official Opposition, BC Legislative Assembly
  • Hon. Gary Lunn, former Minister of Natural Resources Canada 
  • Hon. Carole Taylor, former BC Minister of Finance

View Photos of Past Speaker Series Events in Our Photo Gallery

View More Videos of Past Speaker Series Events in Our Video Gallery