Board of Directors
Stephen E. Balog
Chairman
Mr. Balog has fifty years of diversified oil and gas experience in the management and operation of exploration & production companies in Western Canada. His experience includes a broad range of technical, operations and executive leadership roles in junior and senior companies including Wascana Energy Inc. and Alberta Energy Company where he led large scale exploitation and development projects. Mr. Balog is President of West Butte Management Inc., a private consulting company that provides business and technical advisory services to oil and gas operators. He was formerly Principal of Alconsult International Ltd. and prior thereto, President & Chief Operating Officer and a Director of Tasman Exploration Ltd. from 2001 to 2007.
Mr. Balog graduated from the University of Calgary in 1972 with a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering and is a registered Professional Engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE) and the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He previously served as SPEE Reserves Committee Deputy Chairman and participated in the initial drafting and industry implementation of the Canadian Oil & Gas Evaluation Handbook- Volumes 1&2 as an industry standard for reserves evaluation.
Jill T. Angevine
Ms. Angevine is a Corporate Board Director and President of Brownstone Asset Management. She has over 25 years of professional experience in the investment management industry including portfolio management, capital markets and equity research. Prior to her work as a corporate director, Ms. Angevine gained extensive experience on both the sell-side and buy-side of capital markets as a Director of Institutional Research at FirstEnergy Capital Corp. and later as a Portfolio Manager at two asset management companies. She is a graduate of the University of Calgary (B.Comm) and has earned the Chartered Public Accountant (CPA, CA), the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) designations. Ms. Angevine also serves on the Board of Directors of Tourmaline Oil Corp. and is the past Chair of the Board of a junior oil & gas company. She is actively involved on the boards of a number of not-for-profit organizations where she volunteers her time in the community specifically related to education and investment management.
Mike Belenkie
Mr. Belenkie joined Advantage in October 2018 as Chief Operating Officer, and was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer in October 2019 and then to President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2022. He has over 20 years of diverse experience in the oil and gas industry. Between 2012 and 2018, Mr. Belenkie founded and helped lead Modern Resources to become a highly efficient Deep Basin producer which included oversight on all aspects of the Corporation. From September 2008 to December 2011, Mr. Belenkie held roles of increasing responsibility at Painted Pony including Vice President of Reservoir Engineering and Corporate Development. Prior thereto, Mr. Belenkie held various roles at Talisman Energy (1995-2008) within their North American assets, including Team Lead of Montney and Northeast British Columbia.
During 2006 and 2007, Mr. Belenkie was a management consultant with RLG International, working with leadership teams in two major producers in Alaska and Canada, while on secondment from Talisman. Mr. Belenkie received his BSc. In Mechanical Engineering from University of Calgary in 1997 and is a registered professional engineer with APEGA.
Deirdre Choate
Ms. Choate has over 30 years of experience and knowledge on international tax, treasury, insurance, governance and risk management. From 2007 to January 2021, Ms. Choate was General Manager, VP Tax, and subsequently VP Tax & Treasurer at Husky Energy Inc. Prior thereto, Ms. Choate was an Associate Partner in International Tax Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Ms. Choate is a Chartered Professional Accountant in Alberta and Fellow Chartered Accountant in Ireland and obtained the Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D designation in 2020. Ms. Choate holds a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the University College Dublin.
Don M. Clague
Mr. Clague has had an extensive 35 year working career in oil and gas, including diverse experience in North American domestic and frontier areas, as well as internationally in North Africa, Norway and the United Kingdom.
His experience includes a broad range of technical and leadership roles with Dome Petroleum, Amoco Canada, Alberta Energy, Amerada Hess Canada, Hardy Oil and Gas Canada, Petro-Canada and Suncor Energy. In 2002, he became VP, Production (North American Natural Gas) at Petro-Canada, responsible for the safe, efficient operations in all field locations across Alberta and BC, including all engineering functions supporting those areas. He spent 3 years in Denver as President, Petro-Canada Resources (USA) focused on tight oil and coalbed methane assets. Upon returning to Canada, he became VP, In Situ Development and Operations, and after the merger with Suncor was appointed VP, Firebag Operations. In 2012, Mr. Clague became the Senior VP, In Situ Business Unit. He moved to the role of Senior VP, Oil Sands Technical and Upstream Services in 2015. In 2018, he retired as the Senior VP, Exploration and Production Business Unit, with personnel in Calgary, St. John’s, Aberdeen, Tripoli, and Stavanger.
Mr. Clague graduated from the University of Calgary in 1983 with a BSc. in Geophysics. He remains active at the university, sitting on the Dean of Engineering’s Schulich Industry Advisory Council. He is a registered Professional Geophysicist with APEGA, obtained the Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D designation in 2022, and has served on executive policy groups with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA).
John Festival
Mr. Festival has over 35 years of experience in the energy industry and has held multiple senior executive positions. Mr. Festival graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. He spent the next 38 years in the oil industry of western Canada working mainly in the areas of primary heavy oil and thermal oil production with a focus on creating shareholder value. Mr. Festival held the position of President & CEO of BlackRock Ventures Inc. from 1999 to 2006 and President & CEO of BlackPearl Resources Inc. from 2009 to 2019. Mr. Festival is currently the President & CEO of Broadview Energy Ltd., a private oil and gas company focused on heavy oil development; he serves on the boards of Athabasca Oil Corporation, Cardinal Energy Ltd., and i3 Energy PLC.
Norman MacDonald
Mr. MacDonald is Partner, Natural Resources at Fort Capital. Mr. MacDonald has over 25 years of experience at natural resource focused institutional investment firms, including over 10 years as a Senior Portfolio Manager at Invesco. Mr. MacDonald began his investment career at Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board, where he worked for three years in progressive roles from Research Assistant to Portfolio Manager. His next role was as a VP and Partner at Beutel, Goodman & Co. Ltd. Prior to joining Invesco, Mr. Macdonald was a VP and Portfolio Manager at Salida Capital. Mr. MacDonald earned a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Windsor and is a CFA Charterholder.
Janine J. McArdle
Janine J. McArdle has been an executive in the oil and gas industry for over 30 years with extensive experience in engineering, marketing, business development, finance and risk management. Ms. McArdle is founder and CEO of Apex Strategies LLC, which is a global consultancy company providing advisory services to companies engaged in the midstream and downstream sectors of the energy industry. Prior to forming her own company in 2016, Ms. McArdle was an executive officer at Apache Corporation from 2002 to 2015, serving in senior leadership positions across LNG and Global Oil and Gas Marketing. Prior to Apache, Ms. McArdle served as President and Managing Director for Aquila Europe Ltd. from 2001 to 2002 and held executive and management positions with Aquila Energy Marketing from 1993 to 2001. Ms. McArdle was a partner in Hesse Gas from 1991 to 1993. Ms. McArdle currently serves as a Director on the Board of Directors of Santos Ltd and Antero Midstream and previously served as a Director on the Boards of Halcon Resources and the Intercontinental Exchange until 2019. Ms. McArdle holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Nebraska and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston.
Andy J. Mah
Mr. Mah has over 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and recently retired as Chief Executive Officer of Advantage Energy Ltd. He continues to serve on the Board and remains active with larger energy industry initiatives, advocacy and other Boards. Mr. Mah’s significant executive level experience included all facets of the Canadian upstream oil and gas industry, including U.S. and international assignments. Mr. Mah has developed & transformed corporations, led large successful capital investment programs and completed numerous corporate and asset level mergers, acquisitions and divestments. He also energized excellence in operational, financial, safety and environmental performance throughout his career in multinational, intermediate and junior oil and gas companies. In addition to Advantage, his career included leadership at Ketch Resources Trust, Unocal Corporation, Northrock Resources Ltd., and BP Canada.
Mr. Mah is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, B.Sc. Chemistry in 1980 and B.Sc. Chemical Engineering in 1982. He is a member of APEGA and has served on the Board of Governors of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and numerous volunteer associations, including being a representative on the Canada Olympic Committee.
Jay P. Reid
Corporate Secretary
Mr. Reid is a Partner at the Calgary based law firm of Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP where he has practiced corporate and securities law since 1990. Among other things, Mr. Reid provides advice to issuers and underwriters in respect of private and public issuances of securities and provides advice to issuers, financial advisors, Boards of Directors and special committees on business combinations, reorganizations, mergers, take-overs, arrangements, amalgamations, governance matters and shareholder activist activities. During his career, Mr. Reid has served as a director or Corporate Secretary for over 30 publicly listed or private companies.
David Smith
Mr. Smith has over 38 years of experience in the western Canadian oil and gas industry. Mr. Smith currently serves as a director at Wajax Ltd. and previously served as a director of Crew Energy Inc. Mr. Smith had an extensive career at Keyera Corp. and played a key role its formation, evolution and growth. From 2015 to 2020, he served as President and CEO of Keyera, and prior to that, as President and Chief Operating Officer. He also served as Keyera’s Executive Vice President – Liquids Business Unit, and before that, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. Prior to joining Keyera, Mr. Smith held progressively senior finance roles at Gulf Canada Resources Limited and Imperial Oil Limited. Mr. Smith holds a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University. He also holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Committees Of The Board Of Directors
Audit Committee
Choate (Chair)
Angevine
Clague
Festival
MacDonald
McArdle
Compensation Committee
Angevine (Chair)
Clague
Choate
MacDonald
Reserves and Health, Safety and Environment Committee
Clague (Chair)
Balog
Choate
Festival
MacDonald
Mah
Governance & Sustainability Committee
MacDonald (Chair)
Balog
Angevine
Clague
Choate
McArdle