Skip to main content

TransCanada CEO Hal Kvisle

Diversified energy giant TransCanada Corp. will soon be under new leadership.

North America's largest natural gas shipper says its chief executive - one of Western Canada's best-known and most successful business leaders - will retire at the end of June.

Hal Kvisle, 57, joined TransCanada in 1999 after years in the oil industry, including a period at legendary Dome Petroleum Ltd., and moved into the top job at the gas pipeline operator in 2001.

Read Gordon Pitts' 1997 At the Top interview with Hal Kvisle

During his tenure, he won wide respect in the energy sector and was named Canada's Outstanding CEO of the year in 2008.

Mr. Kvisle said Thursday that TransCanada has either achieved or exceeded all goals it set out in the past decade.

In particular, he cited the company's Canadian expansion and the establishment of a gas transmission business in the United States.

Mr. Kvisle will be succeeded by current chief operating officer Russ Girling, a former CFO at the Calgary company.

Barry Jackson, TransCanada's chairman, cited Mr. Kvisle's "focus, drive and wisdom" for helping the natural gas shipper grow rapidly in the last decade.

"Executive development and succession planning are important responsibilities of the board of directors," added Mr. Jackson. "Russ has demonstrated outstanding vision and leadership over his 16 years at TransCanada. He has had exposure to all aspects of our business and has consistently shown an unwavering commitment to the company's long-term success. His strategic thinking ability, commercial acumen, bottom line focus and people leadership skills will serve the company well in the years ahead."

TransCanada's growth reflects the continental expansion of the energy business, with growing oil sands production, a widening pipeline network Canada and the United States and new sources of natural gas in shale rock formations in both countries.

"Our Canadian gas transmission business is expanding to move B.C. shale gas to market," Mr. Kvisle said.

"We are working to extend our Canadian system to connect northern gas from Mackenzie and Alaska. We've built a substantial gas transmission business in the United States, with a large commercial presence in Houston. And Keystone, our largest project to date, will commence deliveries of Canadian oil sands production to United States refineries by mid-year."

TransCanada, with more than 4,100 employees, operates natural gas and oil pipelines as well as power generation and gas storage businesses.

The company's natural gas pipeline network extends more than 60,000 kilometres and taps into all major gas supply basins in North America. The company is also one of the continent's largest providers of gas storage and related services and is a growing independent power producer, with more than 11,700 megawatts of power generation in Canada and the United States.

In trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, TransCanada shares rose 14 cents to $37.83.

Interact with The Globe