Executive Management

Darcy Reding
President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Reding brings thirty years of energy industry technical and leadership experience to Pieridae. Prior to joining Pieridae in April 2021, Mr. Reding was the Vice President of Operations & Geoscience at NAL Resources Management Ltd., a private exploration and production company with assets in western Canada, until the organization’s strategic combination with Whitecap Resources Inc. Mr. Reding’s experience spans broadly across the upstream and mid-stream energy business and includes health, safety, and environment (HSE),  large drilling and asset acquisition investments, complex hydrocarbon gathering and processing infrastructure, asset optimization and integrity, business strategy development, transformational technology implementation, and data analytics.  Mr. Reding’s prior experience includes small and mid-sized public and private companies including Norcen Energy, Northrock Resources, Samson Exploration, and Enterra Energy Trust.  He is a University of Calgary graduate in Chemical Engineering and is a Professional Member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA).

Adam Gray
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Gray has been with Pieridae since January 2020, acting as Vice-President and Controller. He brings nearly 15 years of experience to the role, including five years with PwC, then eight managing accounting, commercial finance and operational readiness for the multi-billion-dollar North West Redwater Partnership, and providing financial modelling and analysis to the Government of Alberta’s Department of Energy. Mr. Gray holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (BCom) from the University of Calgary, a Graduate Diploma in Leadership from Royal Roads University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).

Paul Kunkel
Chief Commercial Officer

Mr. Paul Kunkel, CFA, brings almost 30 years of strategic, financial, commercial and risk management experience to Pieridae. With his background in leadership, strategic planning, finance, operations and risk management, he is a fitting addition to Pieridae’s leadership. Mr. Kunkel’s business portfolio includes experience across the energy sector as the Director of Risk and Assurance Services at Ontario Power Generation, the Vice President of Finance at NAL Resources and the Chief Financial Officer at Presagient Solutions. Mr. Kunkel also spent a several years with an international management consulting firm, advising multinational corporations on strategic initiatives.  Mr. Kunkel holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and is a CFA charter holder, CFA Institute.

John Emery
Cheif Operating Officer

Mr. Emery has been with Pieridae since 2021, previously serving as Vice President, Operations and Interim COO. He boasts over 40 years of experience in the energy industry in Canada and internationally including work with Repsol, Talisman Energy and Kanati Energy. His unique background in petroleum engineering, entrepreneurship, project management and operations makes him a valuable member of the executive team. Mr. Emery hold a BSc (Petroleum Engineering) from Montana Technological University.

Michelle Cooze
General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

Ms. Cooze has been practicing law for 25 years. As experienced senior legal counsel with a background in corporate commercial law and corporate governance, she is a welcome complement to Pieridae’s Executive Leadership Team. Ms. Cooze is recognized for her practical, strategic approach to operational matters in the energy industry. Her experience includes E&P, midstream, crude/NGL marketing and power generation. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Geography from Memorial University and a Juris Doctor from Dalhousie University. Before joining Pieridae, Ms. Cooze held roles at several Alberta-based energy companies including TransAlta, PHX Energy and IPL. She is a Member of the Law Society of Alberta.   

Michael Bartley
VP Human Resources & Corporate Services

Mr. Michael Bartley has been with Pieridae since 2019 leading the human resources and corporate services team. With over 25 years of HR experience including over 15 years in the energy industry, he has supported two separate companies through significant periods of growth & development.  He is well-versed in strategic and tactical leadership and is a key supporter to the Executive Leadership Team in improving human capital systems, processes, employee and labour relations.   

Board of Directors

Patricia McLeod, K.C.
Chair, Board of Directors

Ms. McLeod, K.C. is an experienced corporate board director, former senior legal executive and Privacy and Compliance Officer. Ms. McLeod held Vice President and General Counsel roles in energy utilities and electricity retail, property development, insurance, and financial services companies. She has extensive corporate/commercial legal experience as well as advising on mergers and acquisitions, business development and joint ventures for large infrastructure projects. Ms. McLeod also serves as Board Chair of FutEra Power Corp. and as a director of the Green Line Board (Member, Governance & HR Committee and Budget & Risk Committee) as well as MINDD Inc.. Ms. McLeod is a former Board Chair of the Calgary Co-operative Association, the Calgary Film Centre, Real Estate Council of Alberta, YWCA Calgary and cSPACE Projects. She previously served as a corporate director on the boards of Bradley Air Services Ltd. (operating as First Air), Alberta Innovates, the Beverage Container Management Board, Calgary Economic Development and Vibrant Communities Calgary. She holds an MBA (Queens University) and Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce (University of Alberta) and an ICD.D (University of Calgary/Institute of Corporate Directors). Ms. McLeod has been recognized for her contributions, receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal and accolades from BMO Financial and Women Get on Board as a top Canadian director. Additionally, she’s been named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by WXN and Legal Advisor of the Year by Women in Finance Canada.

Darcy Reding
President, CEO and Director

Mr. Reding brings thirty years of energy industry technical and leadership experience to Pieridae. Prior to joining Pieridae in April 2021, Mr. Reding was the Vice President of Operations & Geoscience at NAL Resources Management Ltd., a private exploration and production company with assets in western Canada, until the organization’s strategic combination with Whitecap Resources Inc. Mr. Reding’s experience spans broadly across the upstream and mid-stream energy business and includes health, safety, and environment (HSE),  large drilling and asset acquisition investments, complex hydrocarbon gathering and processing infrastructure, asset optimization and integrity, business strategy development, transformational technology implementation, and data analytics.  Mr. Reding’s prior experience includes small and mid-sized public and private companies including Norcen Energy, Northrock Resources, Samson Exploration, and Enterra Energy Trust.  He is a University of Calgary graduate in Chemical Engineering and is a Professional Member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA).

Charles Boulanger
Director

Mr. Boulanger is the Chief Executive Officer of Leddartech Inc., a private company with a unique, patented solid-state LiDAR technology.  He is also the President of Moody Management Inc., a private investment firm. Mr. Boulanger has over 30 years of experience in senior management positions in several industrial sectors with companies such as Shell Canada, Irving Oil, GSI Environment and Prolab Technologies. In 2008, he was the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Unipex SAS, and President of the Active Ingredients and Specialty Chemicals Division of Atrium Innovations (TSX: ATB) from 2004 to 2008. Before joining Atrium, he was the Founder and President of Quebec International (formerly Pôle Quebec Chaudière-Appalaches) further to a partnership with Phenix Capital.  Mr. Boulanger has over fifteen years of experience as a director and officer of numerous companies in the industrial and oil sectors; he currently sits on the boards of Chimie Parachem, Pétrolia and LeddarTech. Mr. Boulanger earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Université Laval in 1981 and graduated from the senior management program at the International Center for Research and Studies in Management (CIREM) in 1990.

Richard Couillard
Director

Mr. Couillard is currently President and CEO of CouilOil Energy Inc., a private corporation. Mr. Couillard has over 40 years’ experience in domestic and international oil and gas exploration, development and production activities which includes 21 years with Chevron Corporation in a variety of technical and management roles. The majority of his career has been focused on the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Mr. Couillard’s directorships have included Canadian Spirit Resources Inc. (2003-2020), Badger Infrastructure Solutions including its predecessors (2005-2015) and Kensington Energy Inc. (2002-2005). Mr. Couillard holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in geology and geophysics and is a member of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (CSPG).

Doug Dreisinger
Director

Mr. Dreisinger has over 35 years’ experience in the energy and chemical industry having worked in both domestic and international markets. He is a consultant providing strategic and business development services predominantly in the energy sector. Mr. Dreisinger worked for Nexen (now CNOOC) for 20 years in positions ranging from Vice President Business Operations for the chemical business, to President of Global Energy Marketing and Trading. His skills and experience at Nexen include the LNG development of Aurora LNG in conjunction with their development partner, Inpex. Mr. Dreisinger is currently a director of Connacher Oil & Gas Limited, a privately held Calgary based exploration, development and production company. He is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA).

Gail Harding, Q.C.
Director

Ms. Harding was the Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for Canadian Western Bank Financial Group until her retirement in 2018.She was previously a partner at the law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, (where she specialized in capital markets and mergers and acquisitions), and Legal Counsel and Exchange Secretary at the Alberta Stock Exchange. Ms. Harding brings extensive board experience having served on the boards of the Alberta Electric System Operator, The Workers’ Compensation Board (Alberta), AC Energy (TSX-V), Alberta Ballet and numerous subsidiaries of the CWB Financial Group. She currently serves on the boards of Meridian Credit Union (Chair, Risk Committee) and the Alberta Securities Commission. Ms. Harding was a recipient of the Canadian General Counsel Award, the Women in Law Leadership Award, and the Queen’s Counsel designation from the Province of Alberta. She holds Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Laws degrees (University of Alberta), ICD.D (Institute of Corporate Directors) and FSA (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) designations and is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Bankers. 

Kiren Singh
Director

Ms. Singh is a financial executive and corporate director. She served as Chief Financial Officer, Vice President Risk Management and Treasurer during her 30-year career in the energy sector where she led more than $4.5B of corporate financings and $11B of global project financings and insurance programs representing privately held and publicly traded Canadian (TSX) and US (NYSE) corporations including Gibson Energy Inc., OPTI Canada Inc., Value Creation Inc., Exxon Mobil Corporation and Mobil Corporation. Ms. Singh serves on the boards of Dynamic Risk Assessment Systems Inc. (Chair, Finance and Risk Committee); Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (Audit and Risk Committees); and, Travel Alberta (Chair, Audit and Finance Committee). She holds an MBA and Bachelor of Commerce (University of Calgary); and a CFA (CFA Institute), CRM (Global Risk Management Institute) and ICD.D (University of Toronto).

Andrew Judson
Director

Since 2019, Mr Judson has been a Director of Condor Petroleum, a public Canadian company operating oil and gas developments in Turkey and Kazakhstan. Prior thereto and until November 2019 Andrew was Director and Senior Advisor to Daytona Power Corp, a private company developing Pumped Hydro Storage projects in the SW United States. Prior thereto, and since 2013, Mr Judson was a Managing Director of Camcor Partners Inc., a Private Equity manager focused on the upstream oil and gas industry in the WCSB. Mr Judson has more than 25 years’ experience in Canadian Energy Capital Markets and was a Managing Director with FirstEnergy Capital, an energy focused boutique investment dealer where he was responsible for the Equity Capital Markets group. Mr Judson advised some of the largest institutional investors in Canada, the United States and Europe on energy investments. Mr Judson also currently serves as a Director of The Fraser Institute and Winsport.