Edmonton Airports announces 2018 Board of Directors

January 26, 2018 | ESG, YEG News Releases

Naseem Bashir elected Chair

January 26, 2018 (Edmonton, AB) – Edmonton Regional Airports Authority (Edmonton Airports) is pleased to announce the 2018 appointments to its Board of Directors. The new appointments continue to build on the strong governance and community leadership commitment of the Board.
As a financially independent, not-for-profit corporation, Edmonton Airports Board members reflect some of the Edmonton Metro Region`s strongest leaders to oversee the organization’s strategic direction, with operating earning revenues of more than $200 million annually and serving almost eight million passengers. Edmonton Airports is a strong economic leader, delivering a total regional economic impact of $2.2 billion annually.
Effective January 1, 2018, Edmonton Airports welcomed a new Board Chair, Naseem Bashir, a long-standing member of the Board.
Mr. Bashir will replace Maureen McCaw as Board Chair, following completion of her maximum term on the Board. Under Ms. McCaw’s tenure, Edmonton Airports benefitted from her wide-ranging business development research, and marketing experience. During this period, Ms. McCaw was instrumental in overseeing unprecedented commercial development with over $800 million in private investment, more than 300 acres of land under development and over 1.6 million square feet of construction.
Welcome Incoming Chair Naseem Bashir P.ENG., ICD.D
Mr. Bashir was unanimously elected by his fellow Board members to the position of Chair for a two-year term commencing January 1, 2018. Mr. Bashir is President and Chief Executive Officer of Williams Engineering Canada and Chairman of the Board for the Williams Group of Companies. He is currently a Director of Waste RE-Solutions Edmonton, serves on the University of Alberta – School of Business SME Advisory Committee and is an Executive with the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) Edmonton Chapter. He is Past President of the Consulting Engineers of Alberta, Past Director of the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation and completed a three-year term at the Stollery Children’s Hospital as a trustee and Vice-Chair of the Board in his last year. Mr. Bashir is also an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. Mr. Bashir is a resident of the City of Edmonton.
In addition to welcoming a new Chair, Edmonton Airports Board will be joined by three new Board members
New Directors
Douglas A. Horner ICD.D
Mr. Horner has been appointed by Parkland County to serve a four-year term commencing January 1, 2018. Mr. Horner is Chairperson for the Canada Asia Synergy Group and a former Deputy Premier of Alberta. He was the MLA for Spruce Grove-St. Albert from 2001 to 2015 and during that time served in many capacities including as a special adviser on trade and federal-provincial relations, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Advanced Education and Technology, President of Treasury Board and Finance Minister. He graduated from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) with a diploma in Business Administration, is also accredited by the Institute of Canadian Bankers and a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors. As well, Mr. Horner served Canada as an officer in the Canadian Forces, and has held the Cabinet post of Minister Liaison to the Canadian Forces where his passion for service resulted in the adoption of military leave in Alberta’s Employment Standards Act. Prior to being elected, Mr. Horner was President of Timber Wolf Trading Company, which he founded.
Christopher Burrows, CA, CPA (IL, USA), CPHR, ICD.D

Mr. Burrows has been appointed by the City of Edmonton to serve a four-year term commencing January 1, 2018. He is currently a Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for AutoCanada Inc. He has many years’ experience as a senior executive in a variety of private sector companies such as K-Bro Linen Systems, Stuart-Olson Construction and the Athabasca University School of Business as well as having been a lecturer at the University of Lethbridge Faculty of Management and owner of his own consulting company. He has equally broad board and committee experience with the Alberta Cancer Foundation, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta, University of Alberta, Norquest College and Goodwill Industries, to name a few examples. Mr. Burrows holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (BSc, Molecular Genetics) and Bachelor of Commerce (BCom, Co-op Accounting) from the U of A, a master of Professional Accounting (MPAcc) from the University of Saskatchewan, and a Master of Arts (MA, Organizational Leadership) from Gonzaga University in Spokane. He is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and holds the designations of Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR).

Carman R. McNary, Q.C., CD, ICD.D
Mr. McNary has been appointed by the City of Edmonton to serve a four-year term commencing January 1, 2018. Mr. McNary is a Partner and former Office Managing Partner for the Edmonton Office of Dentons Canada LLP, part of the world’s largest law firm. With his background in tax and corporate law, he has served as a lecturer at the University of Alberta. Mr. McNary has also been a director of several private companies and served on a wide variety of community and non-profit entities and organizations. He is a former Chair of the Alberta and Edmonton Chambers of Commerce, the Edmonton community Foundation as well as former member of the Metro Mayor’s Advisory Task force on regional cooperation and economic planning and the Mayor’s Task force on Poverty. He is currently the Chair of the Edmonton Screen Industries Office and Co-Chair of the United Way Campaign. Mr. McNary is a retired Captain and Commanding Officer in the Naval Reserves.
Retiring Directors
In addition to the retirement of Ms. McCaw, Edmonton Airports is also grateful for the service and leadership of Ms. Gail Stepanik-Keber (Parkland County) and Mr. Ralph Young (City of Edmonton), who also retired from the Board this year. Ms. Stepanik-Keber brought a wealth of expertise to Edmonton Airports with her strong background in data analytics, marketing, communications, corporate social responsibility, digital banking and corporate environmentalism. Edmonton Airports has been well served by the experience of Mr. Young, a former CEO of Melcor Developments Ltd., and past President and a Director of the Urban Development Institute of Edmonton, Alberta and Canada. Together they have been strong senior advisors and strategic leaders whose contributions have helped to steer Edmonton Airports through years of extensive growth and development.
Returning Board Members

Naseem Bashir, P.Eng., ICD.D – City of Edmonton
Murray Hales, FCPA, FCA – City of Leduc
Joan Hertz, QC, ICD.D – City of Edmonton
Tim Hofstra, Leduc County
Darrell Jones, MBA, FCMA, ICD.D – City of Edmonton
Dale Klein – Sturgeon County
Robert Petryk, ICD.D – Government of Canada
Jay Ramotar, M.Eng., P.Eng. – Strathcona County
Suromitra Sanatani, LL.B, ICD.D – City of Edmonton

About the Edmonton Airports Board of Directors:
Under the Regional Airports Authorities Act, the Board of Directors is responsible for the stewardship, strategic direction and oversight of the business and affairs of Edmonton Airports. The Board of Directors consists of a maximum of 15 members. Six Directors are appointed by the City of Edmonton, two Directors are appointed by the Government of Canada, and one Director is appointed by Leduc County, the City of Leduc, Parkland County, Strathcona County and Sturgeon County. Please visit corporate.flyeia.com/ for more information.
About Edmonton International Airport
Edmonton International Airport is a self-funded, not-for-profit corporation whose mandate is to drive economic prosperity for the Edmonton Region. EIA is Canada’s fifth-busiest airport by passenger traffic and the largest major Canadian airport by land area. EIA offers non-stop connections to 60 destinations across Canada, the US, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe. EIA is a major economic driver, with an economic output of over $2.2 billion, supporting over 12,600 jobs. For more information, please visit: flyeia.com, follow @flyeia on Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin or Facebook.