Sheila O'Brien
Sheila O’Brien, President of Belvedere 1 Investments, joined Canada West Foundation in 2009 as its first Executive-in-Residence. She is a corporate director and business consultant specializing in workforce and leadership capacity. She has over 30 years experience in the oil and gas, pipeline and petrochemical sectors in Canada, the USA and Europe. She has held executive positions in the areas of human resources, investor relations, public affairs and government relations with Amoco International, Petro-Canada and Nova Corporation. She created and implemented an innovative workforce restructuring program based on the dignity of the employee, which was designated a Worldwide Best Practice by Watson Wyatt International Consultancy.
In addition, she has been active in the not-for-profit sector, having served on over 25 boards of directors, dealing primarily with human rights, women’s rights and giving voice to marginalized members of society, and is the founder of several enduring community events celebrating the accomplishments of women. She was invested in the Order of Canada in 1998.
She has served on the boards of directors of TransForce Income Fund, Canada’s largest trucking enterprise, publicly traded and headquartered in Montreal, Skye Resources, a Vancouver-based, publicly traded nickel mining company with assets in Guatemala, and CFM Majestic, a Mississauga-based publicly traded, fireplace manufacturing company.
She currently serves on the boards of directors of Gildan, a publicly traded, vertically-integrated marketer and apparel manufacturer based in Montreal; Advantage Energy Income Fund, a Calgary-based, publicly traded income trust; MaRS, a biotechnology accelerator based in Toronto; and is a member of the Board of Governors of Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary.
Sheila is the co-author of An Extraordinary West: A Narrative Exploration of Western Canada's Future, which outlines, in detail, the five areas that we must get right in order for the West to achieve its full potential and Catching a Rising Tide: A Western Energy Vision for Canada, which illustrates Canada’s current energy reality and highlights opportunities for a bright energy future.