AESO Executive

Aaron Engen was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) effective August 2024. Mr. Engen first joined the AESO in 2020 as a member of the AESO Board and has acted as Chair of both the Power System and the Human Resources committees.

Mr. Engen has more than 30 years of experience in investment banking and law.

Prior to joining the AESO, Mr. Engen was Vice Chair, Investment & Corporate Banking at BMO Capital Markets. He co-headed the bank’s Power & Energy Infrastructure group focusing on energy infrastructure across North America including power generation, transmission and distribution, natural gas midstream, storage, transmission, liquefaction and distribution, and liquids storage and transmission. More recently Mr. Engen was co-head of BMO’s Energy Transition group which covered key sectors including hydrogen, carbon capture and sequestration, low carbon fuels, critical minerals, renewable natural gas, renewable power generation, energy storage, small modular reactors, cleantech, and sustainable finance.

Prior to joining BMO Capital Markets, Mr. Engen was a partner at McCarthy Tétrault, where he practiced corporate and securities law, primarily in the energy and utilities sectors.

Mr. Engen holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta, as well as a Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Lethbridge.

Mr. Engen and his wife have deep family roots in the province with their four Alberta-born sons, all of whom live and work with their families in the Calgary area.

Bill Baker was appointed Vice President, Information Technology for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) in June 2011. Mr. Baker previously served as a Senior Director responsible for overall IT operations, and held a variety of Information Technology leadership positions with the AESO and the former Transmission Administrator since 2001.

Mr. Baker has 25 years experience in the Information Technology field. Prior to joining the AESO, he worked at Canadian Pacific Railway, the Department of National Defence, the Canadian Net Income Stabilization Account and We Care Health Services. Mr. Baker has also developed and taught Information Technology courses for several post-secondary institutions.

Mr. Baker holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Brandon University and a Masters of Science from the University of Manitoba.

Gillian Barnett was appointed Vice President, Law, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for the Alberta Electric System Operator in April 2024. She is responsible for leadership of the AESO’s legal, regulatory, governance and interjurisdictional affairs portfolios.

Ms. Barnett joined the AESO in 2014 and has acted as counsel to the AESO on several significant regulatory proceedings. She has held multiple leadership roles serving most recently as Director, Legal and Regulatory Affairs (Markets & Operations).

Ms. Barnett has over 15 years of experience as counsel in the energy and electricity sectors. Prior to joining the AESO, Ms. Barnett practiced commercial litigation with a major Canadian law firm, focusing on energy, regulatory and Indigenous matters.

Ms. Barnett holds a B.A. in Political Studies from Queen’s University and an L.L.B. from the University of Victoria. She completed her Governance Professionals of Canada designation (GPC.D) in 2023 and is a Member of the Law Society of Alberta.

Robert (Rob) Davidson was appointed Vice President, Grid Reliability – Projects and Planning for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) in February 2022. Mr. Davidson started with the AESO in 2004, holding a range of progressively senior positions in operations and planning. Most recently he served as Director, Customer Grid Access, where he was responsible for providing transmission system access to market participants.

Mr. Davidson has over 25 years of utility experience in the power industry, having previously worked with ENMAX Power Corporation, Primary Engineering and Construction, Dairyland Power Cooperative and the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool. Throughout his career, he has been involved in transmission and distribution planning, transmission and distribution customer connections, distribution design, system operations engineering, and regulatory and strategic business planning.

Mr. Davidson holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Dakota State University, a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Jamestown College, and the designation of Professional Engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.

Kevin Dawson was appointed Vice President, Strategic Integration for the Alberta Electric System Operator in January 2023. Mr. Dawson is responsible for leading and coordinating the AESO’s activities related to industry-wide transformation and decarbonization while ensuring a focus on affordability.

Mr. Dawson joined the AESO in 2010, serving most recently as Director, Forecasting & Analytics, and has held the roles of Director, Market Design and Senior Program Manager.

Mr. Dawson has 25 years of experience in the electricity industry. Prior to joining the AESO, Mr. Dawson worked with TransAlta in the areas of forecasting, risk management, commercial management, portfolio optimization and commodity hedging.

Mr. Dawson holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Economics and a Masters of Arts degree in Economics, both from the University of Calgary. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst ® charterholder.

Nicole Kinch was appointed Vice President, Finance for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) in March 2021. Ms. Kinch is responsible for leadership of the AESO’s Accounting and Treasury, Settlement, Credit and Business Planning functions, Corporate Facilities, and Audit from an administrative perspective. She first joined the AESO in May of 2018 as Director, Finance – Accounting and Treasury.

Ms. Kinch has over 20 years of accounting experience in both the public and private sectors. Her public experience includes a niche specialization in energy and utilities across the U.S., as well as commercial and financial services in New York. Within private accounting she has worked with large oil and gas companies, as well as a startup in biomass generation. Prior to working with the AESO, Ms. Kinch was the Chief Financial Officer for Wagepoint Inc., where she supported the strategic direction of this growing multinational tech company, including development of financial systems, internal controls and fraud mitigation practices.

Ms. Kinch holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Washington State University and designations as a Charted Professional Accountant in Canada and a Certified Public Accountant in the U.S.

Nicole LeBlanc was appointed Vice President, Markets for the Alberta Electric System Operator in January 2023. She is responsible for leadership of the AESO’s market design and implementation, forecasting, market analytics, commercial procurement and the ISO Tariff. Since joining the AESO in 2006, Ms. LeBlanc has held a range of progressively senior positions, most recently as Director of Markets & Tariff.

Ms. LeBlanc has nearly 20 years of experience in the energy and electricity sectors. Throughout her career with the AESO she has been involved in forecasting, transmission planning, electricity market analysis and design, policy development, tariff design, regulatory and strategic business planning.

Prior to joining the AESO, Ms. LeBlanc worked as an economist at the Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI), where she focused on economic research and analysis of Alberta’s oilsands sector for client- funded projects.

Ms. LeBlanc holds a Master of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics, both from the University of Calgary.

Brian McGurk was appointed Vice President, People & Culture and Customer Experience for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) effective Sept 1, 2021. Mr. McGurk is responsible for leading people and culture practices, including workforce planning, leadership development, organizational effectiveness, knowledge management, inclusion and diversity, and performance management.

Prior to joining the AESO, Mr. McGurk was Executive Vice President of Corporate Services at Secure Energy Services. Prior to that, he worked as an Executive and Officer for the past 20 years with responsibility for Human Resources, Safety, Communications, Marketing, and Strategy in the airline, fuel cell, wireless communications, and energy industries.

Currently, Mr. McGurk is Chair of the Board for Castle Mountain Resort. His prior Board experience includes Board member and Shareholder in Shopster e-Commerce Inc. and Board member and Vice President of Cascade Swim Club.

Mr. McGurk has 30 years of helping develop proactive and capable organizations through strategy, culture and people. He holds a Bachelor of Management degree from the University of Lethbridge and is a Certified Professional in Human Resources.

Marie-France Samaroden was appointed Vice President, Grid Reliability – Operations for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) in February 2022. Ms. Samaroden is responsible for leadership of the AESO's Grid and Market Operations. She first joined the AESO in November of 2019 as Director, Engineering, Project Management & Technology.

Ms. Samaroden has over 21 years of experience in the electricity industry. Prior to joining the AESO, she worked at AltaLink Management Limited and TransAlta Corporation. Her experience spans working with and leading system operations, disturbance analysis, asset management, projects and engineering teams.

Ms. Samaroden holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, both from the University of Saskatchewan. She also holds the designation of Professional Engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.

Cameron Bush was appointed Chief Engineer for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) in July 2019. As Chief Engineer, Mr. Bush is responsible for supporting the safe, reliable and economic operation of the Alberta Interconnected Electric System, and providing oversight to the professional practice of engineering at the AESO.

Mr. Bush has been with the AESO since 2003, holding a range of progressively senior positions within the Operations and Transmission departments.

Mr. Bush has over 30 years of extensive experience in the power industry, having worked with Ontario Hydro, the City of Calgary Electric System, TransAlta and AltaLink. Over his career, Mr. Bush has held a broad range of positions involving transmission system and generation planning, distribution design, transmission project engineering, research of emerging power technologies, technical assessment of commercial opportunities, and operations engineering.

Mr. Bush holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Calgary and the designation of Professional Engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta. He is also a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).