Rick George has come a long way from small-town Colorado to gain recognition as one of the most accomplished and progressive leaders in Calgary’s oilpatch.

The 51-year-old native of Brush, Colo., has masterminded a phenomenal turnaround in his decade as chief executive of Suncor Energy.

But one thing is crystal clear in this interview with George. He isn’t one to rest on his company’s laurels, constantly raising the bar for himself and his employees.

1. What was your boyhood dream?

David Lazarowych, Business Edge
Rick George believes in taking risks and letting employees have leeway.

“I always wanted to be a (petroleum) engineer. So I’ve always had a long-term focus on that. I’ve always loved the oilpatch. I worked at what is referred to as the D.J. Basin (near Denver), one of the old established basins in the United States, right out of high school in the summers. I kind of earned my way through university (Colorado State) working there. I also worked as a student engineer and, once I graduated, I moved to Houston and got on with life.”

2. Who has had the greatest influence on your life?

“I’d have to say my wife Julie. I’ve been married almost 30 years. We really kind of grew up together. She’s moved with me 12 times and we’ve had our children at three different locations.”

3. You call in sick tomorrow. How do you spend the day?

“I like to fly-fish right here on the Bow (River) and golf.”

4. Describe your management style?

“We like to think of Suncor as a relatively small company and we have, I think, a pretty open system. I don’t like a lot of bureaucracy and I don’t like a lot of political things going on. So hopefully it’s open and direct. I’ve got a number of philosophies, but one of them is to hire very good people. Surround yourself with really good people and let them have a lot of leeway. At Suncor, every single employee has annual goals and annual bonuses (for attaining goals).”

5. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in business?

“I think its: ‘Don’t be afraid to take risks.’ Suncor has been very successful because of people. And some of the strategies that our team has put in place haven’t come from a bolt of lightning from the top. It really has been developed by the people of this organization. I’m extremely proud of them.”

6. Of which achievement are you most proud?

“I guess it’s pretty obvious. From when we went public in March of 1992 to this year, the share price and dividends — our share value — has been up about a thousand per cent. Again, that was achieved by a team of people and I’m very proud of them for that.”

7. What do you think is the most important trait that has made you successful? “One of the things I’ve always prided myself on is that I can relate to people pretty well and I think being able to relate to a broad range of people, people in the field as well as executives, is probably one of the biggest factors.”

8. Is winning everything to you?

“No, I don’t think so. I think balance is very important — balance in family life but also balance in the company. We (Suncor) are financially very strong, but we’ve also done a lot on the social side. Last year, we invested almost $3 million in the communities we operate in. I think we’ve taken a bit of a leadership role in the environmental area and we intend to continue down that road. Sure, it’s about winning but it’s also about having, I think, a long-term vision.”

9. How long-term?

“One thing that’s unusual about Suncor is, rightly or wrongly, we have a vision that we’ll be in business 50 years from today, the world will change dramatically and we need to change with it or ahead of it. If you have that kind of 50-year view, that drives you to take a much broader look at what you’re doing overall. It’s not absolutely crystal clear (the 50-year view), but I think this company can (look long-term) better than most companies.”

10. What’s your long-term view of the energy industry?

“First of all, near-term we’re kind of, I think, through this kind of high commodity price cycle that we’ve seen in the past year in terms of high gas prices and high oil prices. I think we’re coming off that some. This business is going to be cyclical for quite a long period of time. I think one of the trends that is so obvious now is that there are going to be fewer Canadian oil companies (due to consolidation). The other thing I’m quite excited about is technology.”

11. What’s your opinion on the way technology will impact the industry?

“I think technology in our oil-sands business, in the conventional side, in conservation, in all kinds of ways is going to help drive the future as we see it. As I talk to employees, the real strategy for Suncor is relatively simple — the job every day is to get your volumes up, get your costs down and reduce your environmental footprint.”

12. Is the energy industry in Canada doing enough to address environmental issues?

“This industry has moved tremendously in that area. What you see is companies like Suncor — and it’s not just Suncor but other companies as well — that are taking very progressive stances here and looking hard for solutions. I certainly sense, number one, that the industry has moved a long ways. There’s still a long ways to go, but this is a journey, not a destination point. I’m quite pleased that the industry has moved as far as it has as quickly as it has.”

“We have to invest in new technologies, work on conservation in our own areas as well as encouraging others (to do the same). I think technology is going to come along here that’ll help that area tremendously.”

13. Are you pleased with the progress in your company’s initiatives in hiring aboriginal people and stimulating aboriginal businesses?

“We’re absolutely very proud of that. It impacts every part of our company. Our Sarnia (Ontario) refinery is right next to a reserve. On the conventional gas side, we drill around aboriginal communities a lot and with our oilsands (project), it’s very important. One highlight is that of the new hirings for Project Millennium (oilsands at Fort McMurray) over the last 18 months, 20 per cent of those are aboriginal. Approximately, 10 per cent of our employee base in Fort McMurray is aboriginal. So that’s something we’re quite proud of, in terms of making them part of our community, having them share in the upside of this industry and our company. It’s been positive for the company and positive for the communities.”

14. What’s your view of U.S. President George W. Bush’s energy proposal and how it may impact Canada and your company?

“Canada is getting a lot of focus at the moment, and we do have three real world-class kind of areas off the east coast, oilsands is the largest oil basin in the world and then the far north and the Arctic are important. I think those three areas will get considerable attention (from the U.S.) over the next few years, and they should. Those are world-class resources, and for Canada this is positive news. And we need to manage it well. There’s a great opportunity in there for Suncor and the industry.”

15. What’s your vision for Suncor for 2008?

“We’re one of the few companies that has a pretty clear vision (for 2008). Our goal is to be producing 400,000-450,000 barrels a day from our oilsands business. We’ll have a natural-gas business that is significantly above our internal consumption. And we’ll have a stronger presence in the downstream, potentially with some assets in the U.S., which we don’t have today. Our real value driver in our company is oilsands and particularly the upgrader in our oilsands where we take that heavy oil and upgrade it to light sweet product.”

16. Are you optimistic of a settlement in the labour dispute with union employees in Fort McMurray?

“Yeah, I think we’re hopeful that we’re going to come to an amicable settlement. We’re in full discussions. We’re hopeful.”

17. God taps you on the shoulder and says you can change one thing in your life? “I’d probably take more personal time than I do today. It’s hard for everybody in this company, it’s not just Rick George. A lot of our employees work extremely hard and it’s hard for all of us to get balance these days. I have no immediate plans (to make up for lost personal time). I do run at lunch time (45 minutes) most days when I’m in Calgary and I biked (cycled) out to Okotoks last Saturday.”

18. How do you define success in life?

“I guess taking care of your family is probably number one. There are challenges in both personal and business life, but I think the family life has got to be the key in success.”

19. Do you celebrate the victories in business?

“Oh yeah. Oh yeah. The trouble is that after every victory there’s another challenge right behind it. We do some celebration. Probably never enough.”

20. Do you have any business aspirations beyond Suncor?

“No. This is a great spot to be. I love Calgary. My entire family have become Canadian citizens. And I love the industry. So it’s a great match for me.”

THE COMPANY: Suncor Energy

* Profile: Suncor has grown from humble beginnings as a seller of lubricating oils, kerosene and spirits to Canadian war plants in 1917 to become a major energy company.

* Focus: Suncor is a world leader in mining and extracting crude oil from the vast oil deposits in Northern Canada and has conventional crude oil and natural gas properties in Western Canada and a refinery in Ontario.

* Stats: Suncor's oilsands business is the first successful oilsands venture in the world, having produced nearly 500 million barrels of oil. Suncor boasts current production of 142,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day and employs 2,700 people. First-quarter earnings (through March 31) were a record $125 million.

* Recent stock price (SU-TSE): $40.60 (year range, $29.40-$44.38).

* Web site: www.suncor.com

* Address: P.O. Box 38, 112-4th Ave. S.W., Calgary, AB T2P 2V5.

* Phone/Fax: 403-269-8100, 403-269-6200.

IN PROFILE: Rick George

* Born/raised/age: Brush, Colo.; 51.

* Title: president/CEO, Suncor Energy (since 1991).

* Family: Wife Julie, daughter Emily, 16, and sons Zachary, 24, and Matthew, 21.

* Education: Bachelor of Science, engineering, Colorado State University; law degree, University of Houston Law School; graduate, Harvard Business School program for management development.

* Resume: Prior to joining Suncor, George was managing director of Sun Oil Britain based in London, England. He spent 10 years with Sun Oil. He is a director of Enbridge and Dofasco, a member of the Policy Committee and Task Force on the Environment and board member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

* Awards: George was named Canada's CEO of the year in 1999 and received the Canadian Business Leader award in 2000.

* Passions: Fly-fishing, golfing, lunch-time distance running.