Larry MacDougal photos, Business Edge
John Van Brunt, above, at Agrium’s AGM in Calgary last week, is passing the CEO baton to Michael Wilson, below.

Agrium Inc. CEO and vice-chairman John Van Brunt has announced his retirement effective Sept. 30. Van Brunt will remain vice-chairman of Agrium’s board of directors and continue in his current capacity with various fertilizer industry associations.

Mike Wilson, currently president and chief operating officer, will become president and CEO upon Van Brunt’s retirement.



Agrium Inc. (AGU-TSX, NYSE) is a global producer and marketer of agricultural nutrients and industrial products, and a retail supplier of agricultural products and services in North America and Argentina.

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Members of the Alberta Society of Engineering Technologists (ASET) have elected six volunteers to the society’s governing council.

ASET is a non-profit, voluntary organization of 15,000 members throughout the province and the territories.

Allan Yeung was chosen as the association’s new president, while Scott Turner and Mel Metzger have been appointed first and second vice-president, respectively. All will serve one-year terms.

Yeung is a senior research technologist with Syncrude Canada in Edmonton. Turner is environment, health and safety co-ordinator at KeySpan Energy Canada’s Strachan facility near Rocky Mountain House. Metzger is a rotating equipment specialist with VECO Canada and is currently working in Regina.

Elected to the ASET council are Roger Breski (Calgary), Larry Stone (Edmonton) and Tim Waters (Lethbridge). Council terms are two years in duration.

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Hawker Resources Inc. of Calgary has hired two executives as it continues its evolution from a biotech firm into an energy company.

The company (HKR-TSX), which this spring converted from SYNSORB Biotech Inc., has appointed Terry Schmidtke as chief operating officer and Barry Herring as chief financial officer.

Schmidtke has nearly 25 years of experience in the Alberta oilpatch, most recently as a senior executive with EnCana Resources.

Herring brings 22 years of accounting and oil and gas experience; most recently as CFO of Southward Energy Ltd.

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Brown Communications Group has appointed Les Kahl as creative director of its Calgary operations. As well, Dave Palmer has returned to the company after several years’ absence.

Most recently, both Kahl and Palmer worked with Impact Blue in Calgary.

Brown Communications specializes in strategy, advertising, interactive and public relations services.

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AGTI Consulting Services (West) Inc. has appointed Sandra Scott to the role of managing partner, Calgary. Scott, who joined AGTI in October 2000 in a management and senior consulting capacity, is a business manager and information systems professional with more than 19 years’ experience in the information technology industry.

AGTI provides IT management consulting, technology consulting, IT project management and IT implementation services from offices in Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver.

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With 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry under her belt, Brigitte Fritz is returning to Calgary’s Fairmont Palliser as its new general manager.

Fritz was previously executive assistant manager at the Fairmont Palliser from 1989 to 1994, when she became general manager of the Calgary Airport Hotel. In 1996, she was appointed to her most recent position as general manager, The Fairmont Winnipeg.

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