Oceanic Team
Senior Executives
Michael J. O’Connor
President and CEO
Wilbur Lang
CFO
Vice-President, Finance & Accounting
Board of Directors
Philip Hughes
Chair
Senior Executives
Michael J. O’Connor, President and CEO
Michael O’Connor is the President and CEO of Oceanic Wind Energy Inc. Previously, he was Project Director for Vancouver’s Canada Line Rapid Transit Project with SNC-Lavalin where he was responsible for the design, construction and commissioning of the $1.7-billion transit project before the 2010 Winter Olympics. He also served as President and CEO of BC Transit. Prior to his work with SNC-Lavalin, he owned and operated Clearwater Technologies Inc., a developer and manufacturer of water and wastewater plants and distribution systems. Clearwater Technologies was later purchased by Terasen Utility Services, where Mr. O’Connor served as Vice-President, Operations and Manufacturing. Throughout his career, Mr. O’Connor has successfully delivered complex, ground-breaking projects within tight timeframes and on budget.
Wilbur Lang, CFO
Vice-President, Finance & Accounting
Wilbur Lang is an accountant with more than 35 years of management experience in finance, administration and operations in the construction, manufacturing, banking, communication and service industries. Prior to joining Oceanic, Mr. Lang acted as a consultant on various projects, the most significant being with SNC-Lavalin on the Canada Line rapid transit project. Previously, he was Chief Financial Officer for the Clearwater Group and prior to that he held significant finance and accounting positions in a diverse group of industries.
Board of Directors
Philip Hughes, Chairman
Philip Hughes is a leader in both the Canadian and international energy industries, with expertise in electrical distribution, generation and transmission. Currently, he is Chairman of Kineticor Resources Corp. Previously, he served as President and CEO of Calgary electricity distributor Fortis Alberta. He also previously served as a Director of Churchill Energy Inc. and served on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement for Southern Alberta and the Calgary Health Trust. He has also served as the Chairman of the Energy Council of Canada as well as the Canadian Electrical Association. He is a past member of the Officers’ Council of the World Energy Council.
Joe S. Houssian, Director
One of Canada’s best-known entrepreneurs, Mr. Houssian has extensive experience in business development, growth and operations. Mr. Houssian founded Intrawest Corporation, a world-class developer and operator of luxury mountain, golf and beach resorts. Intrawest’s operations and ancillary businesses included Abercrombie & Kent that operate in 100 countries. When sold in 2006, Intrawest employed 25,000 people with annual revenues over $1.5 billion. Currently, Mr. Houssian is Chairman and founder of Intracorp Capital, an urban real estate development company. He has also served on the boards of Versacold and Lions Gate Entertainment.
Dave Rehn, Director
Dave Rehn was Executive Vice President, Generation and Wholesale Energy with ENMAX Corporation, where he was responsible for the negotiation, construction and operation of the corporation’s power generation facilities and management of the wholesale energy portfolio. Prior to joining ENMAX, Mr. Rehn held key positions with Constellation Energy and Rovsing Dynamics. He also served with Duke Energy Corporation for 25 years in a variety of positions including President and CEO of Duke Energy Power Services North America.
Arthur Willms, Director
Arthur Willms joined the Board in February 2015. Mr. Willms joined Westcoast Energy in 1971 and in 1991 he was named President and Chief Operating Officer and held this position until his retirement in 1999. In 2001 Mr. Willms was appointed to the board of directors of the British Columbia Lottery Corporation. In addition, Mr. Willms has held numerous other directorships including Pacific Northern Gas Ltd., Union Gas Ltd., Crestar Energy Inc., Gulf Canada Resources Ltd., Pristine Power Inc., Columbia Power Inc. and Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
