On March 5, the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) announced that Tom Whalen has been named interim president and CEO of the association, effective March 15, 2018. Whalen fills the vacancy left by PSAC’s outgoing president, Mark Salkeld, who announced his departure in December. Whalen is expected to lead the association for one year or until the recruitment process for a new president is completed.
“I’m honoured and excited to be joining PSAC as interim president and CEO,” said Whalen. “I look forward to working closely with the PSAC Board of Directors and the PSAC team to continue the valuable work that the Association is doing to champion the interests of the members and the Canadian upstream service, supply and manufacturing sector.”
Scott Van Vliet, chair of the PSAC board of directors, noted, “We are extremely pleased to have Tom on board as our interim president and to lead the association through these challenging times. Tom’s vast experience working within the oilfield services sector, along with his prior position as a PSAC director, makes him an ideal candidate for this trusted position. Mark has provided great leadership and vision over the past seven years building on PSAC’s reputation as one of the leading industry associations in Canada. We want to continue this work to ensure that PSAC remains the trusted and respected voice of the sector and our growth includes more service providers of alternate energy sources.”
Whalen previously served on the PSAC board of directors from 2014 to 2016. He was president and managing director of Baker Hughes Canada from December 2013 to May 2016. Prior to being appointed as president of Baker Hughes Canada, Whalen was vice president of the Canadian pressure pumping product line. Whalen received his undergraduate degree in management and a master of business administration from Athabasca University.
