Keynote Speakers
Panel Discussion - State of the Industry
Join us for an overview and a comprehensive panel discussion with the leaders of Canada’s largest global engineering firms on the present state of the industry and the consequential topics and drivers that will shape its future both domestically and globally.
The panel will include Mr. Alexandre L’Heureux, President & CEO of WSP, Mr. Gord Johnston, President & CEO of Stantec, and Mr. Ian Edwards, President & CEO of AtkinsRéalis, and will be chaired and moderated by Dr. Hisham Mahmoud, Chairman of both Cumming Group and Qualus and former Global President & CEO of Golder.
Alexandre L’Heureux
President and Chief Executive Officer
WSP Global Inc.
Alexandre L’Heureux joined WSP in July 2010 as Chief Financial Officer and held this position until he was promoted to President and CEO in October 2016. Mr. L’Heureux’s vision and leadership have been key drivers behind WSP’s growth. During his tenure, WSP has completed more than 90 acquisitions significantly increasing its geographical presence and bringing its workforce to more than 68,000 talented professionals globally.
Mr. L’Heureux brings over 25 years of international experience to WSP, with a strong skill set in finance, mergers and acquisitions, and business strategy. Between 2005 and 2010, Mr. L’Heureux was a Partner and Chief Financial Officer at Auven Therapeutics L.L.L.P. Throughout his career, he has developed extensive knowledge of the alternative investments industry. He is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and of the Chartered Financial Analysts Institute. Mr. L’Heureux was also appointed Fellow of the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec (Quebec CPA Order) in 2017.
Gord Johnston
President and Chief Executive Officer
Stantec
Gord Johnston is President & CEO of Stantec. He provides executive leadership to the company and manages its growth. He has over 30 years of private and public sector experience in the design and project management of infrastructure projects throughout North America and abroad. Having progressed through various leadership roles after joining Stantec’s Edmonton-based Water practice in 1990, including serving as the Water business line leader, as executive vice president of the Infrastructure business operating unit, and as an active participant in Stantec’s acquisition sourcing and integration efforts.
Gord earned bachelor of science and master of engineering degrees in civil engineering from the University of Alberta, and is a registered professional engineer, certified project management professional, and Envision Sustainability Professional. He completed the Harvard Business School's Leading Professional Services Firms program and Financial Literacy program for Directors and Executives at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
Gord has served on the board of directors for ACEC Canada, as past-President of the Consulting Engineers of Alberta, and as Chair of the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association Biosolids Committee. He also served on the TELUS Edmonton Community Board.
Ian Edwards
President and Chief Executive Officer
AtkinsRéalis
Ian L. Edwards is the President and CEO of AtkinsRéalis, a fully integrated professional services and project management company with offices around the world. In his role, he is responsible for the strategic direction of the company, developing a growth plan for sustainable success and pursuing AtkinsRéalis’ purpose to “Engineer a better future for the planet and its people”.
For over 30 years, Ian L. Edwards has been delivering complex infrastructure projects and leading businesses in the engineering and construction industry in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. As a global executive with multidisciplinary expertise, Mr. Edwards has redirected vision with a focus on creating value by simplifying business, delivering high-quality global services locally and executing a roadmap for growth that ensures financial resiliency, accelerates organic and inorganic growth, and creates value for shareholders.
Dr. Hisham Mahmoud
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Qualus
Chairman of Cumming Group
Dr. Hisham Mahmoud’s career spans over 35 years in the Engineering & Construction industry serving the infrastructure, environment, power, commercial, industrial, oil & gas, mining, and government sectors. He built an impressive track record of success leading and transforming companies as they navigate complex challenges and environments, consistently delivering extraordinary results. He is presently serving as the Chairman & CEO of Qualus, a leading provider of advisory, planning, engineering, program management, and technical services to the power industry, and the Chairman of Cumming Group, a leading international project management and cost consulting firm. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to New Mountain Capital, a prominent Private Equity firm with aggregate assets under management of approximately $40 billion. He formerly served as the Global President & CEO of Golder, President of the global Infrastructure Division of SNC-Lavalin, Group President of the global Environment & Infrastructure and Emerging Markets businesses at AMEC, and Group General Manager at URS. He is a registered Professional Engineer and earned a PhD in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University where he was later inducted into its School of Sustainable Engineering and Built Environment Academy of Distinguished Alumni.
Keynote Presentation
Fred Dermarkar
President of Atomic Energy of Canada
Fred Dermarkar is AECL’s President and CEO. He was appointed in February 2021 for a term of three years. Prior to joining AECL, Fred was President and CEO of the CANDU Owners Group, where he led the not-for‐profit organization to advance collaboration between CANDU nuclear reactor operators worldwide.
Fred has been working in the Canadian nuclear industry for close to 40 years. Throughout his career, he has occupied a variety of key technical and senior leadership positions at Ontario Power Generation in support of the design, commissioning, operation and refurbishment of its CANDU reactors. Fred has received the Canadian Nuclear Association’s Ian McRae award in recognition of his substantive engineering contributions, leadership and positive influence on the Canadian nuclear industry and the advancement of nuclear energy in Canada, and the Nuclear Excellence Award from the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) in recognition of his contributions to Ontario Power Generation’s overall post-Fukushima response.
As President and CEO of AECL, Fred is leading the organization in its oversight role, seeing that the priorities of Government are delivered safely and efficiently under the Government-owned, Contractor-operated model.
Fred holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto and is a registered professional engineer in the Province of Ontario.
Keynote Moderator
Dr. Susan Tighe
Provost and Vice-President (Academic) and
professor of civil engineering at McMaster University
Dr. Susan Tighe, PhD, PEng, FCAE, FCSCE, FEIC, C.Dir., is Provost and Vice-President (Academic) and professor of civil engineering at McMaster University.
The position serves as the senior Vice-President, Chief Academic Officer and Chief Budget Officer of the university. Dr. Tighe’s reputation as a scholar, educator, and professional engineer is illustrated by the breadth of her honours and awards. She is internationally recognized for her contributions to the development, design, and management of sustainable concrete and asphalt transportation infrastructure. She has secured more than $25 million in research funding (PI/Co-PI).
She was elected a member of the inaugural class of the Royal Society of Canada’s College for New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. She is a Fellow Canadian Academy of Engineering; Fellow Canadian Society for Civil Engineering; Fellow Engineering Institute of Canada and a past president of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. She won two prestigious Fellowships to undertake high impact research in New Zealand (Erskine Fellowship) and England (United Kingdom Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship).
Dr. Tighe has been a professional engineer in Ontario since 1995 and was a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Waterloo from 2000 to 2020 where she held a Canada Research Chair, the Norman W. McLeod Endowed Chair in Sustainable Pavement Engineering and served as Director of the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology.