Leadership

Michael Law was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) in February 2019. Mr. Law first joined the AESO in 2009 as Vice-President, Operations. Following that, he held the roles of Vice-President, Market Services, Vice-President, Renewables Development and Sustainability and most recently, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Prior to joining the AESO, Mr. Law was Vice-President, North American Power for Direct Energy Marketing Limited in Calgary, overseeing the company’s wholesale electricity portfolio management business. In his previous role with Direct Energy Marketing, Mr. Law had oversight of the Canadian power and natural gas commodity trading operations.

Mr. Law holds a Masters of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration in Finance, both from the University of British Columbia.

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.

Todd Fior was appointed Vice-President, Finance for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) in February 2007. Mr. Fior is responsible for leadership of the company’s Accounting, Settlement, Credit and Risk Management functions. Previously Mr. Fior was Director, Risk and Settlement with the AESO, a position he held for nearly four years.

Mr. Fior has more than 18 years of experience in the accounting, financial and treasury areas. Prior to joining the AESO, he was employed by TransAlta Corporation and prior to that by a public accounting firm providing business advisory services.

He is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan where he obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta.

Dennis Frehlich was appointed Vice-President, Grid Reliability for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) effective October 1, 2019. Mr. Frehlich previously served as Chief Engineer, Technology and Innovation, and was the Senior Strategic Advisor to the Executive team when he joined the AESO in 2017. Mr. Frehlich is responsible for the leadership of the overall grid encompassing both transmission and operation functions.

Prior to joining the AESO in 2017, Mr. Frehlich was the Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer at AltaLink Management Limited for 15 years where he was accountable for all areas of operating the transmission business including operations, engineering, asset management, maintenance, projects, information technology, security, facilities, procurement, inventory, warehousing and environment, health and safety. In addition, Mr. Frehlich held the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at AltaLink for over a year on an interim basis while the incumbent CEO was on secondment to the parent company.

Mr. Frehlich has over 30 years of broad electric industry and strategic executive experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and the designation of Professional Engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.

Miranda Keating Erickson was appointed Vice-President, Markets for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) in November 2017. She is accountable for the design and monitoring of pricing signals in Alberta’s electricity markets, as well as tariffs, corporate economics, executing large-scale procurements and overseeing the resulting commercial agreements, and forecasting of Alberta’s future electricity needs. Since joining the AESO in February 2010, Mrs. Keating Erickson has held several roles of increasing responsibility including her most recent roles of Vice-President, Regulatory and External Affairs and Vice President, Operations. She is part of the AESO’s leadership team, who are responsible for ensuring the reliable operation of the electricity grid and wholesale market in support of Alberta’s $300 billion economy.

Mrs. Keating Erickson has more than 20 years of experience in the electricity industry in Alberta including previous roles with TransAlta where she had a wide range of experiences and provided leadership in the areas of operations, investor relations, trading, project management, and commercial management.

In addition to having a breadth of knowledge of Alberta’s electricity sector, Mrs. Keating Erickson also sits on the VIA Rail Board of Directors and has been active for more than 15 years with the McGill Alumni Association, where she is currently a member of the Desautels Global Experts program. Mrs. Keating Erickson has a strong history of contributing to the community through her involvement with AIESEC, where she has been acting in an advisory capacity for more than 20 years, and also currently acts as a member of the AIESEC International Supervisory Group.

Mrs. Keating Erickson holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, a Project Management Professional designation and the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Pauline McLean was appointed Vice-President, Law, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) effective October 1, 2019. Ms. McLean previously served as Director, Legal and Regulatory Affairs, and Associate General Counsel, and held the roles of Director, Commercial Management; Director, Competitive Process; Senior Program Manager and Legal Counsel, Competitive Process with the AESO as well as provided counsel to a broad number of AESO business units, including IT, Regulatory, Operations, Finance, Corporate Security, Inter-jurisdictional Affairs, Communications and Human Resources over the past 10 years.

Prior to joining the AESO, Ms. McLean worked in private practice in the Business Law group at Macleod Dixon LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP). Ms. McLean advised clients in the areas of general business law and technology enterprises, with an emphasis on procurement, outsourcing, general corporate commercial matters, intellectual property and brand management.

Ms. McLean holds a Bachelor of Science in Cellular, Molecular and Microbial Biology and a Bachelor of Laws, both from the University of Calgary, and the CIC.C (Certified In-House Counsel Canada) designation from the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association and Rotman School of Management.

Lisa Nadeau was appointed Vice-President, Human Resources for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) in January 2017. Ms. Nadeau previously held the role of Director, Human Resources since joining the AESO in 2006. As a part of the leadership team, she is responsible for integrating new AESO work into existing workflows and overseeing change and transition management, knowledge transfer, education and other human resources management accountabilities.

Prior to working with the AESO, Ms. Nadeau held a variety of human resources positions with increasing responsibility in the Department of National Defence, the National Energy Board and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Ms. Nadeau has extensive human resources expertise in strategy development, workforce planning, performance management and organizational design. She is also experienced in employee relations for both unionized and non-unionized environments, and in learning and development, change management and human resources information systems implementation.

As a life-long learner, Ms. Nadeau holds a Masters of Business Administration from Royal Roads University in Victoria, B.C., a Bachelor of Management (Honours) from the University of Manitoba, and a post-graduate diploma in Management Consulting from the Grenoble Graduate School of Business in France. Ms. Nadeau holds certificates in Human Capital and Effective Organizations and in Adult and Continuing Education from the University of Southern California and the University of Calgary respectively.

Cameron Bush was appointed Chief Engineer, Reliability 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).