BRIAN HESJE, FCA, ICD.D
Chairman of the Board
Fountain Tire
Audit Committee
Human Resources Committee

Brian Hesje is Chairman of the Board of Fountain Tire, which is recognized as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies. He is a member of the Board of Directors of ATB Financial and chairs the ATB Human Resources Committee. Brian is past vice-chair of the Board of Governors for the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and he presently sits on the boards of three companies and a society with headquarters in Alberta.

Brian earned a Bachelor of Education and Masters of Business Administration from the University of Alberta. He obtained his Chartered Accountant designation in 1976 and joined Sac, Zimmel, Stewart & Co., Chartered Accountants that year, ultimately becoming a partner in that firm. He was also an instructor with the Faculty of Business at the University of Alberta.

Brian Hesje was admitted as a Fellow to the Institute of the Chartered Accountants of Alberta in 2000. In that same year he was awarded an Alumni Honour Award by the University of Alberta. In 2003 Brian was awarded the Canadian Institute of Retailing & Services (CIRAS) Henry Singer Award. He earned the Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005 and received his Institute of Corporate Directors, Institute-certified Director, (ICD.D) designation that year.

JOHN T. FERGUSON, FCA
Chair, Audit Committee
Human Resources Committee

Mr. John Ferguson is chairman of Princeton Ventures Ltd. John received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta in 1964. He began his career with Price Waterhouse, but later joined the Oxford Development Group as comptroller. By 1969, John acquired the role of vice-president and treasurer of Numac Oil & Gas, Ltd. and became chief financial officer. John's significant work in establishing Numac's subsidiary company, Nu-Alta Developments Ltd., was recognized with a promotion to the position of president. However, at the height of his career, John's entrepreneurial spirit sought a different challenge.

John ventured into business on his own and founded Princeton Developments Ltd. Under his direction, Princeton Developments has become a major player in Canadian commercial real estate development and management, a world leader in cold weather climate property development, and a vital partner in other property and community endeavours. Having earned an outstanding business reputation, John is consistently sought out as an advisor to many significant Canadian businesses and community organizations.

John served as chairman of TransAlta Corporation, Princeton Developments Ltd. and Research Technology Management, and has served as a director of a number of enterprises, including the Royal Bank of Canada, Suncor Energy, Barbican Properties, Bellanca Developments Ltd., Swiss Bank Corporation (Canada), Southam Inc., Selkirk Communications, Strategy Summit, Alta-Can Telecom, Bow Valley Energy, and the National Trust Company Edmonton Advisory Board. He is a member of the World President's Organization and a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors. Additionally, John has contributed extensively to various community organizations, such as the C.D. Howe Institute, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Conference Board of Canada, Edmonton Economic Development Authority, Canadian Institute of Advanced Research, United Way Major Corporation Division, and the Young President's Organization.

During his appointments as chair of the Business Advisory Council to the Dean of the School of Business and the Board of Governors at the University of Alberta, John has strived for innovative research and academic excellence. His personal involvement has attracted the interest of many top executives, as well as financial supporters, who have contributed to the University's highly esteemed reputation within the community and in the academic world. To support his strong advocacy of education, John has served as Chancellor of the University of Alberta.

Other tributes include the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, induction into the Junior Achievement Alberta Business Hall of Fame, an Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree from the U of A, and a Commemorate Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada.

BRENT HESJE
CEO
Fountain Tire

Brent and his wife Deborah live in Edmonton with their two children, Katherine and Jonathan.

Brent was raised in Saskatchewan and received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1985. He spent seven years in sales management and merchandising positions throughout Canada with Procter & Gamble. Before joining Fountain Tire, he was responsible for Procter & Gamble's western region.

In 1992, Brent joined Fountain Tire as its marketing manager; in 1994, he became an owner and vice-president of marketing and, in 2005, he was appointed CEO. He is active in the industry and the community. Brent is past chair of the Western Canada Tire Dealers and a board member of the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council. In addition, he is a board member and past chairman for The Support Network, an organization that provides 24-hour distress line support to greater Edmonton.

MICHAEL ROSS
Managing Partner
Conroy Ross

Michael is the Managing Partner of Conroy Ross Partners, a business advisory and executive search company.  Previously he held various progressive positions with the consulting arm of Ernst & Young, culminating with his position as Senior Vice President(People and Organizational Solutions Leader and Prairie Consulting Services Market Leader) in Calgary. 

Michael holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Business Administration degree from the University of Alberta.  In addition he has earned the designations of Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Institute of Corporate Directors, Institute-certified Director (ICD.D), and Certified Management Consultant (CMC). 

There is significant executive and leadership experience in many areas within large global companies, the public sector, entrepreneurial and middle market enterprises in Michael's background.  His experience and skills include areas such as merger integration, executive recruitment and selection, governance, strategic management/planning, performance management and project/program management to name a few. 

Director experience includes current Board member in five private companies and one public company; the Chair of three Human Resources Committees and two Compensation Committees and member of two Audit Committees.   Michael is past Director of a public company and past board member of a number of non-profit organizations such as the YMCA-Calgary and Edmonton, Calgary Opera Association and the Grant MacEwan College Foundation.  He has a strong history of community service. 

Tributes Michael has received include MAAA (Hon.) Honorary Architect, Alberta Association of Architects and the Paul Harris Fellow awarded by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

IAN M. REID

Ian Reid joined R. Angus Alberta Limited, the Caterpillar distributor for Alberta, in 1977 and held progressively senior sales and management positions until the company was sold to Finning International Inc., the largest Caterpillar dealer in the world, in 1989.  With Finning Ian held the positions of Regional Manager for England and Wales, Vice President of Operations for Finning (Canada), and was named President in November 1997.  He retired from that position in 2008.

As President of Finning (Canada) Ian led the company to become one of the largest and most successful Caterpillar equipment distributors in the world.  During his tenure as President revenue tripled to $3 Billion, and the company grew to employ 4,500 employees in more than 100 strategically located service operations.  The company also earned the reputation of ‘safest heavy equipment company in Canada'. 

Ian holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard.

Director activities include Vice Chair of a publicly traded management company and independent director of a private company.  Ian is the immediate Past Chair of the Board of Governors of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT).  He serves on the Board of Governors for Junior Achievement of Northern Alberta and NWT and has served on the Boards of non-profit and volunteer organizations. 

Ian was named one of Alberta's 50 Most Influential people for 2004 by Alberta Venture Magazine and was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal ‘for outstanding service to the people and the province of Alberta' in 2005. 

Ian is married with three children and resides in Edmonton, Alberta.

LAURA THOMPSON
Vice-President Business Development
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

On June 1, 2005, Laura Thompson was appointed vice-president of business development. In this role, Laura is responsible for the company's "acquisition, divestiture, and partnership activities in supporting Goodyear's long-term strategies."

Thompson is a 23-year Goodyear associate with a diverse company history. She started her career with Goodyear working part-time while finishing her undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Akron. She also holds an MBA in finance from the University of Akron.

She served in various financial and accounting staff positions, both in business units and corporate staff, until she was named manager of finance for research and development in 1997. In January 2000, she was named director of investor relations and served in that capacity for two years. She became finance director for consumer tires in North America in December 2002, and was promoted into the business development position the following December.

Laura is married to Mark, an engineer for Goodyear. They have one son, Christopher, and enjoy raising black labs, playing golf, and boating.

JACK WINTERTON
Vice President, Channel & customer Development, Consumer Tires
North American Tire

Jack Winterton was named Vice President Channel & Customer Development for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company effective September 1, 2003, after having previously served as Goodyear's Director Dealer Sales.

Jack joined Goodyear through a retail division of The Kelly Springfield Tire Company, a Goodyear subsidiary, in May 1973. He held various retail management positions with Kelly prior to being promoted to their home office December 1980.

Mr Winterton was born in Oriskiny Falls, New York, in 1953 and graduated from Canton College in Canton, New York, with a degree in Business Administration.

He has been married to Andrea since May of 1975, and they have three grown children.

Committees

The Fountain Tire Board of Directors has an Audit Committee, a Human Resources Committee, and a Governance Committee.

The present Audit Committee members are:

John Ferguson, Committee Chairman
Brian Hesje

The present Human Resources Committee members are:

John Ferguson 
Brian Hesje

The present Governance Committee members are:

Brian Hesje
Brent Hesje
Laura Thompson

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