One of the four business leaders named as this year's laureates to the Calgary Business Hall of Fame has local ties.
Hal Kvisle, 60, said he still thinks of Innisfail as home.
“I still have pretty strong roots around Innisfail,” he said, noting he still owns a small farm near town and has lots of friends in the area.
Kvisle grew up in Innisfail, the son of high school teacher Nils Kvisle, and lived in town until he left to get a degree in engineering from the University of Alberta. During his summer breaks from university he'd return and work at the refinery in Bowden, an experience he said helped give him insight into key parts of the oil and gas industry and inspired his choice as an engineer.
Named Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year in 2008, Kvisle spent 11 years working for TransCanada Pipelines, starting in 1999 as a senior vice-president and then as the chief executive officer in 2001.
“Before that I'd spent about 25 years in what we call the upstream side of oil and gas,” Kvisle said. He worked with Dome Petroleum and Fletcher Challenge Energy, helping turn the latter into a business worth over $1-billion.
As part of his time in the upstream side of oil and gas, Kvisle started his own company, a time he called “one of the most interesting periods of my career.”
Business hall of fame laureate and outstanding CEO are just a few of the honours Kvisle has received over his years in business, which include the Canadian Business Leader Award, the Distinguished Business Leader Award and the Fraser Institute's Founder's Award.
He said he was “a little bit” surprised at being nominated for the Calgary Business Hall of Fame. Kvisle said he thinks of hall of fame nominations for older people.
“You never really think you're as old as you are,” he said.
According to the press release from the Calgary Business Hall of Fame, this year's laureates are being recognized for their business accomplishments and philanthropic efforts. Kvisle's philanthropic efforts include currently chairing the national board of the Nature Conservancy of Canada and previously chairing Mount Royal University's board of governors. He sits on a few corporate boards as well.
Kvisle was announced as a laureate on May 2 and will be inducted into Calgary Business Hall of Fame in late October.
