Leadership, Innovation, and Impact: Recap of the Canadian Business Leader Awards in Calgary

On Wednesday, September 18, we hosted a celebratory dinner in Calgary to honor two extraordinary leaders in the Canadian business community. The event recognized the remarkable business and philanthropic achievements of Sue Riddell Rose and Alex Pourbaix. The evening was marked by heartfelt tributes, smooth jazz, and a room full of distinguished guests eager to celebrate these remarkable individuals.

Sue Riddell Rose, Canadian Business Leader of the Year

Sue Riddell Rose has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Perpetual Energy Inc. since its inception as Paramount Energy Trust in June 2002 and through its corporate conversion to a junior oil and gas exploration and production company in 2010. Sue is also the President and CEO of Rubellite Energy Inc., formed as a new growth-oriented E&P start-up in July 2021 to focus on the Clearwater Formation using innovative multi-lateral drilling technology.

Sue graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, with a Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering (1986) and began her career with Shell Canada before joining Paramount Resources. She is a director of Paramount Resources, Secure Energy and Altalink, a governor of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, and one of the founders and Acting Chair of Canada Powered by Women. Sue has also been actively involved with a number of not-for-profit organizations, including UNICEF Canada, Fulbright Canada, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and the Alberta Children’s Hospital. She is a past chair of the board of the United Way of Calgary and Area and of Alberta’s Promise and has previously served as a member of the board of trustees of Queen’s University and Mount Royal University. 

She was joined for the evening by her husband and three sons.

Alex Pourbaix, Canadian Business Leader Lifetime Achievement Honouree

Alex Pourbaix is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Cenovus Energy. He is currently Executive Chair of the Cenovus board of directors, where he is responsible for providing leadership to the board and ensuring ongoing strong governance while supporting management’s execution of the company’s strategy. He continues to support Cenovus’s advocacy efforts, including industry initiatives, government relations and ESG engagement, and provides ongoing leadership with the Pathways Alliance.  

Prior to joining Cenovus, Alex spent 27 years with TC Energy and its affiliates in a broad range of leadership roles, including as Chief Operating Officer, where he was responsible for the company’s commercial activity and overseeing major energy infrastructure projects. Alex currently serves on the boards of NRG Energy Inc., Canadian Utilities Limited, the Business Council of Alberta, and the Alberta regional board of Nature Conservancy Canada. In 2022, Alex was awarded the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in recognition of the contributions he has made to Alberta. 

He was joined for the evening by his mother, sisters, wife and two daughters.

We were once again joined by local Calgary band, the Swingsetters during dinner for some smooth jazz to set the mood in the room. We were also very excited to have award-winning journalist, Linda Olsen act as Master of Ceremonies for the evening. A a proud born and raised Calgarian, Linda spent 30 incredible years at Global News Calgary, where she  covered a royal visit, live province-wide television specials, including awards shows, Grey Cup celebrations, and elections, and received recognition on several occasions for Global News’s election night broadcasts. 

Linda was also host and producer of Global’s Woman of Vision series. For 15 years, she highlighted the stories of inspirational women in the community with monthly television news features and columns in the Calgary Herald. A passionate community leader and advocate who believes in giving back, Linda is a constant presence in the city at charitable events. She is a board member with the Calgary Children’s Foundation and an honorary board member with Believe in the Gold, a local grassroots charity raising awareness and supporting research for children facing cancer.

We would like to extend a special thank you to
the Hyatt Regency Calgary and all of our event sponsors.