Past-Presidents

APEGA has existed for almost 100 years, and for every year of its existence, there has been a president of Council to uphold the pillars that APEGA stands for: integrity, accountability, innovation, and service. Through the decades of change and growth, the men and women listed below led APEGA’s Council.

They have worked across the globe, from Mississippi to Venezuela, but all settled their talents here in Alberta. Each came from different walks of life, from serving in the Second World War, to teaching aeronautics, to instigating first-time overseas ventures. This incredible group made its mark on the world and on APEGA.

All of these outstanding people helped make APEGA what it is today, and all were thanked for their service with an Honorary Life Membership award—a framed medallion memento—inducting them as life members of APEGA.

2020: John Van der Put, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.)

John Van der Put

John Van der Put, a professional engineer, graduated from Rice University in Houston, Texas, with a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering. Soon after, he earned an MBA in finance and quantitative management science from the University of Houston. Counting more than 35 years of experience in upstream oil and gas pipeline development, Van der Put has been involved in process engineering and project executive leadership throughout the Americas.

Drawn to the mountains of Alberta, Van der Put moved to Calgary in 1990, spending seven years at Nova Gas Transmission before moving on to TransCanada Corporation. He’s currently a pipeline project manager with Woodfibre LNG, where he is overseeing the development and construction of a FortisBC pipeline system expansion.

Van der Put has spent the past two decades contributing to boards focused on human development and technological advancement, including the Athabasca University Governing Council and the University of Calgary’s Centre for Innovative Technology Industry Advisory Board. He has a long history of volunteer work with APEGA, having dedicated his time to a variety of committees, including the professional development committee, the staff benefits committee and the discipline committee. He also has experience on APEGA Council, having served as a councillor from 2007–2010 and again from 2012–2015, and as president-elect in 2019.

Van der Put is a Fellow of Engineers Canada and an Honorary Fellow of Geoscientists Canada. He received an APEGA Award for Voluntary Service in 1999, and he became APEGA’s 101st president in April 2020.