High praise for Enbridge chief
Another of Dick Haskayne’s proteges is hanging up his spurs. First it was Hal Kvisle stepping down as Transcanada Corp.’ s chief executive in 2010, and now Enbridge CEO Pat Daniel is joining that group.
It’s been a bit of an unlikely journey for the Priusdriving Daniel, who found himself in the pipeline business following the merger of Interprovincial Pipeline and Home Oil.
When that happened, many of Daniel’s business colleagues said he’d be bored working in the pipe- line world compared with what was going on in the exploration and development side of the business. It wasn’t anywhere near as exciting, they warned.
Decades later, nothing could be further from the truth. Especially these days, where news headlines are all pipelines, all the time.
In fact, Daniel probably thought that by choosing the last Monday in February to announce he would be stepping down, he didn’t risk someone else stealing his thunder.
But as luck would have it, that’s precisely what did happen as Transcanada announced it would go ahead with the southern leg of the Keystone pipeline from Cushing, Okla., to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
If anything, Monday’s events underscore the fact there is never a dull moment in the pipeline business.
And this makes it that much more curious as to Daniel’s timing. There is so much on the Enbridge plate, not just with respect to Northern Gateway, but the suite of other capital projects the company has underway.
But, as many pointed out Monday, every CEO has “their time.”
“There’s always got to be a day,” said Firstenergy pipeline analyst Steven Paget.
Moreover, if a CEO is doing what is necessary from a succession-planning standpoint, they can pick that time for an orderly transition.
Which is what Daniel and the Enbridge board of directors have done.
As Mike Tims, chairman of Peters & Co., pointed out, Daniel leaves the company well positioned for the future.
“Pat has been a major presence in the industry and deserves a lot of credit for positioning Enbridge for the future,” Tims said.
He has also, according to former Enbridge executive Steve Letwin — who now runs Toronto-based Iamgold Corp. — built a very strong executive team that won’t look back.
“He’s one of the best CEOS I have ever worked with,” Letwin said, speaking from a mining conference in Miami.
“He has built a tremendous team . . . and is leaving behind a legacy of bench strength to carry on.
“I can tell you that the management team I worked with at Enbridge was one of the best.”
Letwin said Daniel’s manage- ment style was one of balance, in evidence through some challenging times, and always involved seeking input from others.
“He always took the time to take input and use it to come to the right decisions,” Letwin said.
While Daniel might not have foreseen the pipeline business being full of intrigue as it is today, he also said during a media session Monday that the business he leaves behind has changed significantly in the more than 30 years he has been associated with it.
He never believed there was a problem that could not be solved.
FORMER ENBRIDGE EXECUTIVE STEVE LETWIN, ON PAT DANIEL
Not only has it morphed from being focused on gas to one in which the future lies in facilitating the transport of oil, Daniel has also borne witness to the oilsands — and the export of oil — dominating the Canadian economy.
With that has come the anti-oilsands labelling — something that bothers him — which is having an effect on the Northern Gateway project, as is the aftermath of the 2010 Enbridge oil spill in Michigan.
This despite the fact one cannot find fault in how Enbridge responded.
Indeed, coming so soon after the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, where that company’s CEO whined about getting his life back, Enbridge’s response, led by Daniel’s two-month stint in the state set a new standard for a corporate response to a crisis — no matter the industry.
If anything, it should reinforce the ability of pipeline companies to respond appropriately if and when there is an issue, especially given the evolution of monitoring systems and the use of more resilient materials.
But the Michigan situation illustrates a characteristic cited by Letwin, who said Daniel was never one to fold his tent when things were challenging.
“He never believed there was a problem that could not be solved. Pat believes if you take the time and work through all the issues, you’ll arrive at a solution,” said Letwin, who still holds Enbridge shares.
This philosophy might explain Daniel’s confidence that Northern Gateway will become a reality — because the challenges can be addressed with the right attention.
Once he completely steps aside, Daniel says his plans — beyond board-related duties — are as yet undefined.
He counts himself as an avid fly fisherman and says one of his upcoming projects will be to build an outdoor hockey rink on his property for his young grandsons by next Christmas.
But as a passionate proponent of a National Energy Strategy for Canada, it would not be surprising to see Daniel take a lead role in mapping out this very important initiative. While he has yet to receive a tap on the shoulder in this regard, one would be hard pressed to think his knowledge, understanding and approach to problem-solving will not harnessed for an undertaking that would benefit the country — if not the continent — for decades to come.
Pat Daniel might have written the last chapter of one book in his life; but another might just be on the horizon.