Efficiency, innovative technologies and workforce planning. Building executive teams with the dynamism and knowledge to drive costly, high-stakes projects whilst preserving shareholder value. These are the four main demands on Canada’s energy leaders, and they are well positioned to meet them, says Ranju Shergill, Managing Partner of Amrop Rosin in Calgary.

For the past 20 years, Canada has steadily been reducing conventional oil and gas emissions as it pursues its 2050 net-zero goal: shutting down coal, enhancing technology and carbon capture. It has imposed strict emissions limits, energyefficiency regulations, and cybersecurity measures. This has all meant heavy investment in technologies, equipment, processes, and workforce development.

With just a tenth of Canada’s population, the landlocked province of Alberta is renowned for its natural beauty and economic vibrancy. On the east, it is occupied by the Great Plains. On the west, it borders the Rocky Mountains. When it comes to energy, Alberta punches above its weight: in 2023, it generated 92% of Canada’s renewable electricity.[i]

Canada’s work has not only enabled the country to meet its own needs, but serve global demand, even as geopolitical shifts and trade policies bear down. And growth momentum – and optimism - are strong. Consider Canada’s regulatory regime - historically stricter than that of the U.S., sometimes pushing companies south of the border. This is slowly changing as strategies align with sustainable energy production.

Despite the push for renewables, oil and (particularly natural) gas will continue to feature in Canada’s energy portfolio: marked by pipeline expansion and an uptick in liquefied natural gas production. And it will need to do so. Hydro power is well established but insufficient. Uncertainty around wind expansion lingers. Attention is turning to nuclear: a typical board search requires expertise in public policy and government relations.

Consider, too, the AI-accelerated surge in data centers; something that even the most forward-looking leaders could have fully anticipated. Data centers alone will consume 14% of total power demand by 2030 – rising at a rate of nearly 25% a year. This all requires a massive energy network, and yet more electrification through 2050.

In the race for reliable and affordable energy, workforce development has never mattered more. Firms need technical talent to adopt new processes and integrate innovative technologies. They must build infrastructure for electrification and decarbonized fossil fuel production - protected from cyber threats and extreme weather: wildfires and floods.

This wide array of challenges calls for multifaceted, strategic CEOs and executive teams. Given the importance of culture and workforce development, CHRO roles are becoming especially critical.

Our clients seek C-suite experience along several axes.

• Assuring digital transformation and innovation
• Raising quality, expanding operations and infrastructure
• Navigating regulation, government relations and public policy
• Securing capital
• Cross-specialism collaboration
• Increasing shareholder value
• Organization design.

A relentless balancing act: investment, efficiency, profitability, and ESG

As if this was not sufficient to keep them awake at night, CEOs face another task: to build innovative, opportunistic and agile cultures and develop their successors. Even governmentowned utilities - once considered sleepy - are now dynamic and fastmoving.

Unsurprisingly, a war for talent is underway. To find the best, we are recruiting leaders from across the energy and infrastructure space, including fossil fuel generation.

But the talent pool is landlocked. When it comes to CEO and board search, the biggest limitation is the need to navigate regulatory hurdles. Chief executives need strong relationships with provincial and federal governments to influence public policy. This means that they must come from the energy and infrastructure space, and its sub-sectors.

Even if the talent pool lies within Canada’s borders, its work will continue to flow far beyond.