FOR COUNCIL Darren Hardy, P.Eng.
My name is Darren Hardy and I have served on Council over the past year. I am a Professional Engineer with 27 years of experience working in the Canadian energy sector. I was born in Regina and moved to Alberta, living in several different cities before finishing high school in Fort Saskatchewan. I graduated in 1989 from the University of Alberta with a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering.
I believe I have built a reputation for building strong teams by focusing on mentoring and development. I believe that dealing with people in an honest and ethical way, and helping develop clearly defined goals, is the best way for everyone to succeed. These are the values I have brought to Council and consider core to all activities. I have enjoyed spending my time volunteering with youth organizations such as the Fort McMurray minor football association and my daughters’ ringette association. I find it rewarding to help build an organization and to support young athletes as they grow and learn. Last year I ran for APEGA Council and was successful in being elected to a one-year term. It has been a busy year of changes for APEGA and Alberta, and I’ve been active in Council and the Governance Committee, supporting our membership and protecting our ability for self-regulation while working to keep our professional dues as low as possible during tough economic times. These are challenging and sometimes diverging goals, but I feel that I am well prepared to continue working for the membership. On a more personal note, I have really enjoyed the past year — expanding my knowledge of Council activities and Members, and participating in new Member Induction Ceremonies and Life Member dinners. I currently live in Calgary with my wife, Shannon, who is also an APEGA Member, and our two teenage daughters. We spend our time involved with our daughters’ sports and school activities, and when we get the chance we also enjoy skiing, hiking, and biking in the mountains. APEGA Activities • Member (1989-present) • APEGA Council (2016) • Member, APEGA Governance Committee (2016) Affiliations, Corporate and Community Service • Board Member, Syncrude Canada Ltd. (2008-2016) • Member, Oil Sands Executive Policy Group (2008-2016) • Board Member, Alberta Chamber of Resources (2009-2013) • Official, Fort McMurray Minor Football (2005-2007) • Board Member, Bow View Ringette Association (2011-2016) • Executive Committee Member, Bow View Ringette (2013-2016)
I spent the first 19 years of my career in Fort McMurray at Syncrude Canada Ltd. I am a big believer in continuing education, through both formal and informal channels. I was fortunate to work in an operating environment with great mentors and gain engineering experience working in a variety of technical and operations teams. My first few years were shared between project roles leading plant optimization studies to responsibly increase production and reduce costs, and operational roles providing technical direction for several large-scale upgrading processing facilities. This provided a technical foundation when I turned my focus to leadership as an operations team leader. Building on this experience, I then managed the upgrading turnaround team throughout the upgrading expansion modifications. To enhance my skills I completed the Queen’s School of Business Operations Management Program. My career path continued through a series of management roles with increasing scope and responsibility in the utilities department leading up to the Business Unit Manager position. In many of these roles I was active in developing and implementing new workflow structures and accountability processes. I was also responsible for ensuring safety and environmental compliance for staff and business operations. In 2008 I moved to Calgary to join the Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. executive team, where I was responsible for providing oversight of the Syncrude operation. In this role I chaired a variety of governance committees as well as being a member of the Syncrude board of directors. This provided a significant insight into the business, legal, and disclosure aspects required for effective governance. I was also able to enhance this learning by completing Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. This year I returned to Syncrude where I currently direct a team of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists in a wide variety of projects to develop business and environmental strategy.
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