CG Caroline Saunders

CG Caroline Saunders

British Consulate General in Calgary

As the British Consul General in Calgary since May 2016, Caroline Saunders represents the UK Government in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Caroline is a career diplomat with diverse experience overseas and in London. Prior to coming to Calgary, her most recent UK Foreign Office roles in London were Head of Global Challenges and Innovation (using international innovation collaboration to address cross-boundary challenges like climate change) and Head of Global Low Carbon Growth (focused on creating the momentum for a successful outcome at the Paris Climate Summit in 2015). She was Deputy Consul-General and Head of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) in Brisbane, Australia and Political and Media Officer at the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. She has also worked at UKTI in London on trade strategy and for the UN Conference on Disarmament negotiations on chemical and biological weapons. Her first overseas posting was as Development Assistance Attache at the British High Commission in New Delhi.

      

Jim Landon

Jim Landon

Senior VP & General Manager

Jim Landon was appointed Senior Vice President & General Manager, Frontec in November 2017. He is responsible for the implementation of a modernization, diversification and growth strategy for Frontec’s North American and International camp services, operations and maintenance, emergency response and consulting businesses. Jim joined ATCO in May 2017 as Vice President, Strategic Research & Development where he was responsible for leading a cross-functional team dedicated to exploring geopolitical, societal, technological, environmental and security trends impacting ATCO’s business now and in the future. He continues to be involved in ATCO Strategy and is the Executive Committee member responsible for leading digital innovation projects in partnership with IBM.

Mr. Landon retired from the British Army in May 2017 after a successful 28-year career having reached the rank of Colonel. Commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, he served as a commander and staff officer in the UK and overseas including operational tours in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was Commander of the British Army Training Unit in Suffield in Alberta from 2012 to 2015 before completing a final operational tour in Afghanistan in 2016. Mr. Landon was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty the Queen in 2004. In 2017, he was the recipient of the US Bronze Star and NATO Meritorious Service Medal as Commander of a US Task Force in Afghanistan. Mr. Landon was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and has a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Masters in International Liaison and Communication.

      

Steven Vaivada

Steven Vaivada

President, Scout Engineering & Consulting

As an engineer, Steven saw the need and potential to deliver First Nation Projects differently. As a member of the Kainai (Blood Tribe), Founder and President of Scout Engineering & Consulting Ltd., Scout is “Innovating the Indigenous Future”. Through technological stewardship, trust consulting, and generating collaborative wisdom, Scout Engineering partners with Indigenous communities to define problems and collaboratively develop sustainable and long-lasting solutions.

Steven has industry-leading experience developing meaningful relationships and results-driven processes to support success within Indigenous communities.

     

Paul Pryce

Paul Pryce

Principal Advisor, Consul-General of Japan in Calgary

Paul Pryce is Political & Economic Advisor to the Consul General of Japan in Calgary, in which role he represents Japan’s strategic interests in Western Canada and Canada’s North. He also currently serves as Principal Advisor to Japan’s Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs. Paul has previously consulted for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indonesia-based think tank UPH Analytics, and he has held a variety of roles in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). His commentary on issues of international trade and security are published widely.

   

Gary Mar

Gary Mar

CEO, PSAC

Gary Mar is an independent consultant currently working for both Chinese and Canadian companies seeking assistance with trans Pacific trade and investment. His clients include private and publicly traded companies in the fields of energy, medical diagnostic equipment, real estate and environmental technologies. He is a co-founder of Canadian Advantage Petroleum Corporation, a company that has successfully sold Canadian heavy oil directly to independent refineries in China.

He previously served as the Province of Alberta’s Representative in Asia from 2011 to 2015. He led the province’s strategic outreach efforts from his post in Hong Kong and worked with Alberta’s offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei. His focus was trade promotion and investment in Alberta with a particular focus on energy. Exports from Alberta and Asian investment in Alberta increased dramatically during his tenure. Gary also served as the Official Representative (Minister-Counselor) of the Province of Alberta to the United States of America in Washington D.C., from 2007 – 2011. He worked extensively with the Alberta energy sector on advocacy issues in Washington DC and many U.S. States. He has a broad network of contacts in both Canada and the U.S. with government and the energy sector.