june 2009 issue
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Albertan Leads Engineers Canada
BY GEORGE LEE
The PEGG
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ALL SIGNED UP |
The newest president of Engineers Canada said the timing is perfect for his made-in-Alberta leadership skills to hit the national stage. Dan Motyka, P.Eng., a past APEGGA president, said he has “the good fortune” of taking office when a number of initiatives will bear fruit.
Two skills are the basis of leadership, he said — being able to create a vision and being able to rally support through teamwork to put it into action. “I think I’ve been blessed with both of those.”
Mr. Motyka officially took office as the 2009-2010 president during the Engineers Canada Annual General Meeting in Montreal last month. The Calgarian is a recognized engineering leader in at least three arenas — self-governance, academia and industry.
Engineers Canada is the business name of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, the national organization representing engineering self-regulating associations from 12 provinces and territories. APEGGA and EC’s other constituent members represent more than 160,000 professional engineers licensed in Canada.
Mr. Motyka and the new board will see the adoption of a new strategic plan for the next five to 10 years of Engineers Canada’s work. The organization’s initiative on women in engineering is now realigned. A task force on the synergies between constituent members and Engineers Canada has figured out what obstacles block cooperation. Also, a task force on Aboriginal representation in the professions is gaining momentum under a new name, the Indigenous Peoples Task Force.
A declaration by Canada’s engineering profession is also an important document for his term, Mr. Motyka said. Just before the Engineers Canada AGM, the National Engineering Summit 2009 in Montreal looked at engineering now and into the future. Organized by the Canadian Engineering Leadership Forum, the summit brought together delegates from a wide range of engineering groups and speakers from a range of professions and disciplines. The event culminated with the declaration.
Mr. Motyka is currently the chief operating officer of CTI Resources Corp., a private company involved in the development of technology for the petroleum industry. He also sits on the CTI board of directors, as well as the boards of Garneau Inc. and Questor Technology Inc.
In 1959, Mr. Motyka graduated from the University of Manitoba with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering. He attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University in 1978.
Mr. Motyka joined Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. after graduation and retired at the end of 1991 as vice-president of production. He later moved on to become president and chief executive officer of Canada Hibernia Holding Corp., and then president of Questor Technology Inc.
For his long connection to the University of Calgary, Mr. Motyka received the institution’s highest honour in 2001, the Order of the University of Calgary. He began volunteering at U of C in 1980. He was the founding chair of the U of C’s advisory council for a joint engineering-management program in project management, and later for its Engineering Associates Program, which brings the community and the engineering industry into the process of advising faculty.
Mr. Motyka is a fellow of Engineers Canada and of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He’s a recipient of three awards from the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy — its J.C. Sproule Memorial Award for his distinguished contribution to petroleum exploration in the Canadian Arctic, its Petroleum Society Distinguished Service Award and its Lifetime Achievement Award.
Also on the executive committee of Engineers Canada are President-Elect Zaki Ghavitian, ing., of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, Past-President Dick Fletcher, P.Eng., of APEGBC, Ken From, P.Eng., of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan, and Ron LeBlanc, P.Eng., of Engineers PEI.
Mr. Motyka and the board members are supported by Engineers Canada’s chief executive officer, Chantal Guay, P.Eng., ing., and her staff in Ottawa.
More Info
Engineers Canada
www.engineerscanada.ca
National Engineering Summit
www.engineeringsummit.ca
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