Advisory Board
Neil Carmata
Director, COO & Co-Founder, Enlighten
Neil studied chemical engineering at the University of Alberta. Field trips to Fort McMurray spurred his fascination with the oilsands. In 1975 he joined Shell Canada, where he was employed for the next 30 years. During this time he led development of the milestone AOSP.
Neil played an important role in the Suncor/Petro-Canada merger in 2009/10, helping to join the companies. He stepped down from Suncor, kept busy as an industry advisor and eventually co-founded Field Upgrading, a technology venture aimed at commercializing a simple and clean upgrading process for converting heavy oil into low-sulphur marine fuel.
Neil held various senior positions at Shell Canada from 1975 to 2005, and was integral to the successful development, construction and start-up of Shell’s Athabasca Oil Sands Project. He also worked in executive positions within Petro-Canada and Suncor from 2005 to 2011. Neil holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and is a member of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
Since 2017, Neil’s focus has shifted to a different kind of challenge. He left the management team of Field Upgrading, Enlighten, CleanSeas and to help find a cure for a rare form of muscular dystrophy called FSHD, which he has suffered from for years. While a cure won’t help him personally, Neil says it would be a gift to future generations, including his family.
Dr. Eric P Newell
OC, AOE, FCAE, PEng.
Eric Newell is a trailblazer and a visionary. He is responsible for revolutionary innovations in Alberta's trades workforce and oil sector, including a new energy strategy for Canada worth billions. He has initiated opportunities for economic prosperity to under-employed people across Alberta, especially women and Indigenous peoples.
In 1986, Eric had worked his way to division manager for Imperial Oil. That year, crude oil prices dropped below $10, and Eric ended up redesigning Esso Petroleum (a division of Imperial Oil) from the ground up, and in doing so, designed away his job.
Imperial Oil loaned him to Syncrude, and that’s how Eric found himself on the runway in Fort McMurray in 1986, standing on the path to becoming one of the most influential people in Canada’s energy sector.
At that time, the development of the oil sands followed a mining philosophy: establish a site, mine out the area, and then shut down the site and start over somewhere else. Under Eric’s leadership, Syncrude envisioned a new model using satellite mining operations that moved according to where resources were richest, while feeding the extracted bitumen back to one central upgrader.
Eric lead and co-found CAREERS: The Next Generation in 1997.
Eric is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence, and has honorary doctorates from the University of Lethbridge, University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and Athabasca University. The Energy Council of Canada recognized him as the 2003 Energy Person of the Year and he was inducted into the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame in 2010.
He held various senior roles at Imperial Oil, led Syncrude Canada Ltd as CEO, served as president of the Alberta Chamber of Resources, is chancellor emeritus of the University of Alberta, and has been the director and chair of numerous other organizations.
Fay Arjomandi
President and CEO, mimik
While incubating mimik; Fay was also the CEO of a group of mobile companies under Nantworks, including Tensorcom, NantMobile, and Mobile Genomic Health, leading the consumerization health solutions between 2014 – 2016.
Prior to NantWorks, Fay was the CEO of Vodafone xone. Fay successfully launched Vodafone xone in Silicon Valley in September 2011, which became the global incubation center of the Vodafone Group and the beta brand for Vodafone consumers in the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Egypt. Fay spearheaded the partnership work with emerging and disruptive technologies to enable start-up companies to develop, test, and prepare for commercial deployment in global markets. Additionally, her role expanded to lead Vodafone Ventures, the strategic corporate venture capital arm of Vodafone Group. Fay was also the President of Vodafone Americas Foundation, an outreach program whose mission is to mobilize communities to resolve shared problems and to enable mobile technology to advance social change in addition to exceptional leadership and vision. Prior to Vodafone, Fay was the co-founder and CEO of two other start-up companies L3 Technology, Mobidia that was acquired by App Annie Inc.
Fay is an official member of the Forbes Technology Council. Fay has been granted many patents. In 2020 she was named by Linux Foundation and State of the Edge as the Edge Woman of the Year, she was recognized as the 2018 Alumni of the year at Concordia University. In 2014, she was named by San Francisco Business Week as one of the most influential women business leaders in Silicon Valley. In 2007, she was the Canadian technology and innovation representative to the White House. Fay received the distinguished Business in Vancouver’s 2006 “Top 40 Under 40″ award presented to outstanding leaders in their chosen fields.Fay is a highly sought-after global speaker, and industry thought leader given her specialization in digital communications, software applications, and protocol development. Fay is also currently the Executive Chairman of H2 Wellness and Advisor to StudyTracks.
Jack Woodward, KC
Lawyer, Author, Beekeeper
Jack Woodward specializes in Aboriginal rights and title work in Canada, with many years of expertise accumulated from his high profile court cases, notable legal work and writings on the topic of First Nation law.
Woodward was born in New Westminster, B.C., and was raised in Surrey, B.C., on a portion of his great-great-grandfather William Woodward’s farm, near the present Woodward Hill Elementary School. Woodward’s great-grandfather John Woodward’s sister, Elizabeth Woodward, was married to John Oliver, the 19th Premier of British Columbia.
Woodward’s great grandfather Edmund Wade’s brother was doctor, historian and publisher Mark Sweeten Wade. Woodward graduated from Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School in 1969. BA, 1974 University of British Columbia, LL.B 1978, University of Victoria.
When he isn’t working with his law firm, Jack devotes his time to other interests including writing, farming, and beekeeping.
https://jackwoodward.ca/notable-legal-work/