Senior Management Team

Listed below is the Corporation's management team responsible for the generation and delivery of electrical and heat energy throughout the Northwest Territories.

Leon Courneya
FCA, President and Chief Executive Officer

Leon Courneya was appointed President of NTPC in 1996 and Chief Executive Officer in 1997.

He also serves as President and Chief Executive Officer for the Northwest Territories Hydro Corporation, NTPC’s parent company, and Northwest Territories Energy Corporation 03 Ltd. and Sahdae Energy Ltd., both affiliates of the NTPC.

In addition to his service for NT Hydro group of companies, Leon acts as President and CEO of Aadrii Ltd., which operates a district heating system in Fort McPherson, NT.

Prior to his current position, Leon was Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer from 1993 to 1996 for the Corporation. He served as Director, Finance from 1989 to 1993.

Leon has an extensive background in finance which he honed as an auditor and consultant while working in Johannesburg, South Africa between 1983 and 1986. Prior to that, he worked for Thorne Riddell, Chartered Accountants in Toronto, ON.

Leon received his Chartered Accountant designation in 1981 after graduating from York University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1979.

Leon is also a past President of the Institute of Charted Accountants of the NWT and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. He was a member of the 1995 Governor General’s Leadership Conference and served on the national organizing committee for the 2008 conference.

 

Judith Goucher
MA, Director, Finance and Chief Financial Officer

In 2001 Judith Goucher was appointed Director, Finance and Chief Financial Officer.

Prior to her current position, Judith was promoted to Director, Regulatory Affairs after working for eight months as a Financial Advisor to the Vice President Finance and CFO, in 1998.

Before joining NTPC, Judith was a partner in a financial consulting company in the NWT. Prior to entering the private sector, Judith was the Director of Budgeting for the Government of the Northwest Territories, served four years as the Executive Assistant to the Honourable John D. Pollard, Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Financial Management Board Secretariat and held various other positions with the government since moving north in 1985.

Judith received her Master of Arts Degree in Economics at McMaster University; Hamilton, Ontario, in 1984 and is a graduate of the Queens Executive Program.

Judith served as a Director with the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference from 2000 – 2008, was a conference participant in 2000 and the NWT Tour Chair for both the 2004 and 2008 Conferences. Judith is currently the President of the Hay River Sunrise Rotary Club and has served in a variety of executive positions for other local volunteer organizations.

 

Brian Willows
Chief Operating Officer

Brian Willows joined the Corporation in 1976 as a lineman. He is currently NTPC’s Director of Communications and Chief Operating Officer.

Brian has over 30 years experience in the electrical utility business, all but three of which have been in the Northwest Territories. Between 1976 and 1991 he worked in various facets of the Corporation, including power electrician, plant superintendent and area maintenance superintendent. In 1996 he was appointed Manager, Safety and Environmental Affairs (West), which he carried out for five years before joining the executive team as Director of the Delta/Sahtu Region. In 2004, Brian became Director of Corporate Operations and was promoted to Director of Communications and Chief Operating Officer in 2008.

Originally from Victoria, British Columbia, Brian attended Carleton University, Ottawa, and the University of Victoria. In 1981 he graduated from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Edmonton, as a power electrician (inter-provincial seal).

 

Cheryle Donahue
Director, Human Resources

Cheryle Donahue has played a considerable role for NTPC since 1991. Initially employed as a Personnel Administrator, she was appointed Manager, Human Resources in 2001, and then Director, Human Resources in 2003.

From 1982 to 1991, Cheryle was involved with several departments within the Alberta Government with a focus on human resources.

Cheryle completed a certificate in Personnel Administration from the University of Alberta in 1998 and also has certificates in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management from Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario.

 

Mike Bradshaw,
Director, Corporate Communications

Mike Bradshaw is the recipient of a Utility Communicators International Award for community relations, a BC Environment Minister’s Award for demand-side management, and eight Canadian corporate communications awards.

Prior to joining NTPC in October 2009, he was practice leader for energy projects with Tait Communications and Consultants in Yellowknife.  Mike has 14 years senior management experience in the electricity industry in BC, Alberta and the NWT. 

With NTPC Mike has direct responsibility for planning, managing and evaluating all aspects of corporate communications and public and media relations. 

Mike has worked on Canadian Electricity Association Public Opinion and Communications committees and has been a guest speaker on stakeholder relations and market reform at numerous electricity industry conferences.

He was a member of the BC Transmission Corporation’s Planning Advisory Committee (2004-06) is a past Chair of the BC Chamber of Commerce (2005-06), and spent several years on the BC Chamber policy development committee with a focus on energy, labour, skills shortage, and taxation files.

Mike studied broadcasting and journalism at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario and Marketing at Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

He has served on numerous volunteer boards including the United Way of Edmonton and the Royal BC Museum.

 

John Locke
Director, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer

John Locke joined NTPC as Director of Information Systems in 1997. Before venturing north, John was a teacher at the University of Technology in Lae, Papua New Guinea where he taught Computer Science from 1989 to 1996.

Prior to New Guinea, John Locke was the former Vice President at Star Data Systems in Markham, Ontario where he oversaw the installation of a North American wide data communications network.

From 1972 to 1979 John worked for the Ontario Provincial Government where he developed computerized research and analysis software for the Treasurer of Ontario.

John has a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Western Ontario.

 

Mike Ocko
Director, Thermal Region

Mike has been with NTPC for 20 years and began his career in 1989 as an electrician in Fort Simpson.

Since that time he’s served as Manager, Operations and Maintenance for the Thermal Region and, most recently, as Assistant Director. 

The Thermal Region, based in Inuvik, includes 20 communities extending from Fort Liard to Ulukhaktok.

 

 

 

 

Robert Schmidt
Director, Hydro Region

Robert Schmidt was promoted to Director, Hydro Region in 2008, after 28 years of utility experience in the North.

He began his career in 1981as a welder/millwright in Inuvik with the Northern Canada Power Commission. Robert branched out to various positions as well as various northern communities until his appointment to his current position.

He has been actively involved with northern fire departments and continues to work closely with the Territorial Emergency Measures Organization.

Robert is certified as an Electrical Generating Systems Technician and holds a diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology. He holds a certificate from the Queen’s University Executive Program and is a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP).