The Hub Announcement of new board chair and public members

Announcement of new board chair and public members

Athabasca University welcomes Nancy M. Laird as board chair and Bryan R. Berg and Ilario (Larry) Spagnolo as public members. The appointments were made by the Honorable Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Advanced Education on August 16, 2019.

Please find the following biographies for the newly appointed members:

Board Chair

Nancy M. Laird has more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas and technology sectors and has held senior positions in several major energy companies such as Shell Canada, North Canadian Oils, Norcen, Pan Canadian Energy, and Encana. She has a diverse background in managing marketing, midstream assets, information technology, and environmental portfolios.

Ms. Laird currently serves as a director of Alberta Innovates, the $100 Million Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund, the Alberta Securities Commission’s New Economy Committee, and just recently completed her term as director of the Business Development Bank of Canada, where she served on the Board Investment Committee the Board Clean Tech Committee and the Audit Committee.

She was formerly a board member of SAIT, Innovate Calgary member and chair, Mindfuel (previously Science Alberta Foundation) member and chair, United Way of Calgary, Calgary Health Region, Hull Child and Family Services, and the ICT Advisory Committee for the Alberta Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Ms. Laird holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Business Administration from York University’s Schulich School of Business. She is a designated chartered director through the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D).

Public Members

Bryan Berg is a managing director in the Global Energy Investment Banking group in Calgary. He has responsibility for business origination and execution with many of CIBC’s most significant oil and gas clients; providing strategic advice, financial expertise, and execution support for all aspects of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and capital raising activities.

Mr. Berg joined CIBC Capital Markets in 2004 and has worked in the Energy Investment Banking and Research groups in Calgary and the M&A group in Toronto. His financial advisory experience spans over 175 transactions including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, unsolicited acquisitions, take-over defenses, initial public offerings, equity, and debt financings.

Born and raised in Calgary, Mr. Berg holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering (with distinction) from the University of Alberta, a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Mr. Berg is a current board member of Wood’s Homes Foundation (children’s mental health) where he serves as a member of the finance and IT committee.

Ilario (Larry) Spagnolo currently leads the Emerson Zedi Cloud SCADA Solutions team of strategic executives that focus on the market, business development, technology, culture, talent management, financial performance, operational excellence, and most importantly, delighting our customers to help them realize their production potential. Proudly, Larry drives Emerson success by continuing to offer positive career opportunities for team members that best support our culture, mission, and values.  Prior to joining Emerson Automation Solutions, Mr. Spagnolo was employed by TELUS where he held several leadership and executive positions. Prior to TELUS, he served as senior regional manager, mid-western Canada for Sony Canada.    

Mr. Spaganolo currently sits on the board of uDigit, and previously on NAIT’s Board of Governors.  

Mr. Spagnolo is a graduate of the NAIT School of Business, MacEwan University, Rotman School of Management–University of Toronto, and York University with studies in business and administration.

Please join us in welcoming Nancy, Bryan, and Larry to the AU Community.

We also want to acknowledge and thank Vivian Manasc for her leadership and contributions as former board chair. She was a significant proponent of the university and we appreciate the time and energy she committed to the university.

Appreciation is also extended to Shawn Cornett and Brenden Hunter for their important contributions during their time as public members. We thank them for their efforts in in furthering the institution’s mission to transforming lives and communities.

See here for the full Government of Alberta news release.

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Published:
  • August 20, 2019