Candidate for Councillor, Geoffrey Kneller, P.Eng., MBA, FEC, CD
Candidate Overview
- Professional engineering experience as a senior engineer working in the pipeline industry, with prior experience in engineering consulting, technology entrepreneurship, and municipal public service
- Extensive APEGA volunteer experience working on a regulatory committee enforcing the EGP Act and serving as a member of Council in 2021 and 2022 on the Audit and Governance committees
- Leadership experience as a Canadian Armed Forces reservist providing supervision, training, and logistics management for cadet programs in southern Alberta
Personal Statement
This is my tenth year serving as an APEGA volunteer, including eight years on our regulatory Enforcement Review Committee and two one-year terms on Council (2021 and 2022). I have degrees in engineering and management from the University of Calgary, and I completed a certificate in adjudication through the University of Toronto law school.
I became a professional engineer in 1995. Through my career in the petroleum industry, municipal public service, engineering consulting, and high-tech entrepreneurship, I’ve developed the key skills I bring to Council: strategic experience in issue management, the ability to build relationships, a background in professional practice management as a Responsible Member, and financial experience as a business owner. I’ve also had the opportunity to develop my leadership skills through more than 25 years of service as a reservist in the Canadian Armed Forces.
My experience as a volunteer on APEGA’s Enforcement Review Committee will be critical on Council as we continue to work towards new engineering and geoscience professional legislation in Alberta. Experience in regulatory enforcement work helps Council to communicate the importance of self-regulation to Albertans and our government. Adapting to new legislation in a challenging financial environment is going to be APEGA’s biggest opportunity in 2023.
Candidate Resume
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Get to Know the Candidate in Four Questions
What does self-regulation mean to you as a member of APEGA?
Self-regulation is our tool for maintaining the confidence of Albertans in the ability of our members to provide safe, cost-effective professional engineering and geoscience services. Behind the scenes, all of the real work that goes into self-regulation is accomplished by hundreds of dedicated APEGA volunteers supported by APEGA’s professional staff.
What would you bring to Council?
The most important skill I bring to Council is experience volunteering on our regulatory committees. I think it’s critical that we have as much regulatory experience on Council as we can get, because we still have a lot of work to do to obtain new engineering and geoscience professional legislation in Alberta. My experience in enforcing our current Act will be critical in engaging with government to bring a new act before the legislature.
As the regulator of engineering and geoscience, what challenges does APEGA face?
The biggest challenge facing APEGA this year is to adapt to a challenging financial environment with lots of uncertainty. We have to ensure that our regulatory functions are adequately resourced to provide the public safety regulation that Alberta’s economy relies on. APEGA’s membership requires a Council that continues to focus on providing good value to members and permit holders for the fees we pay, so that we can all provide safe, cost-effective engineering and geoscience services to Albertans.
What is the value of a professional licence with APEGA?
I’m excited by the number of students and members-in-training I meet who are continuing to pursue careers in engineering and geoscience, despite the challenges of the economy and the pandemic. The newest members of our professions truly demonstrate the value of a professional licence through the new technologies they are developing in our province and their focus on the importance of public safety. The self-regulatory framework that our professions operate in is a critical advantage for Alberta’s industries.