Doing it all: Alumna bridges many worlds

By Malwina Gudowska

Growing up in Fort McMurray during the early days of oilsands development had a powerful influence on a Schulich School of Engineering graduate, who is now balancing technical, business and personal roles in the energy field.

As an EnCana vice-president in downstream operations, Judy Fairburn, BSc’85, MSc’88, is a highly accomplished chemical engineer, business executive and parent.

As a teen working with her chemical engineer father, she gained an appreciation for the oil business and decided to pursue her engineering degree. “I like the system-wide approach,” says Fairburn. “You start with a big picture. Then you determine what the steps are you need to take to convert one thing into something else. If this is the problem, what is the solution?”

Fairburn followed her master’s degree with refining work for Shell. She gravitated to other roles with the company, including field work, at which point Fairburn decided to develop the business skills needed to bridge the gap between the technical and commercial worlds. An executive MBA gave her the confidence and perspective to start something new, she says.

That new role was at PanCanadian Petroleum in strategic planning, during the initial Kyoto discussions. In 2003, Fairburn became the first private-sector executive to go to the Privy Council Office on what is now known as the Prime Minister’s Fellows Program.

After she returned to Calgary in 2004—to help lead the world’s largest CO2 storage project and an enhanced oil recovery business with EnCana—she also took up the parallel challenge of motherhood and had a daughter in 2006.

Not only is she now both a mother and executive, she is leading EnCana’s new venture with ConocoPhillips, responsible for EnCana’s interest in two U.S. refineries.

“I don’t mind taking on roles that have never existed before,” she says. “It seems to be a theme for me all the way through my life.”

Knowing there are ups and downs in the sector, Fairburn says, is a reminder to build bridges thoughtfully and, above all, seek balance with the steadying influence of family, friends and work.