CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - June 18, 2014) - Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB) announced today that J. Richard Bird, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Development, plans to retire by the end of 2014. Upon Mr. Bird's retirement, his responsibilities will be split into two separate roles of chief financial officer and chief development officer. Enbridge also announced the appointment of John Whelen as Senior Vice President, Finance and of Vern Yu as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, both reporting to Mr. Bird, effective July 1st, 2014.
Mr. Whelen is currently Enbridge's Senior Vice President and Controller. He will retain executive leadership for Enbridge's financial reporting function and will also assume responsibility for Enbridge's tax and treasury functions. Mr. Whelen has been part of the Enbridge team for 22 years in a series of executive positions of increasing responsibility including treasury, risk management, corporate planning and development, and financial reporting. He has served as the chief financial officer and then the president of the Enbridge Income Fund where he led the business through a period of significant growth. Throughout his history with the company, Mr. Whelen has developed extensive experience in capital markets and has been instrumental in securing billions of dollars in growth capital funding for Enbridge.
Mr. Yu is currently Enbridge's Senior Vice President, Liquids Pipelines Business and Market Development. He will assume responsibility for executive leadership of Enbridge's corporate planning and development function, including strategic planning and investment review. He will also assume responsibility for the oversight of Enbridge's new growth platforms including renewable energy, international and energy services. Mr. Yu has been part of the Enbridge team for 21 years in a series of executive positions of increasing responsibility. Most recently, Mr. Yu led the Liquids Pipelines business development team to secure more than $30B in new growth projects, which will facilitate new market access for our customers. In addition he has also held several senior corporate and financial positions.
Al Monaco, President and Chief Executive Officer of Enbridge commented on the executive changes, "Richard has been a key member of Enbridge's executive leadership team for two decades, holding both senior financial and operational roles. He is highly respected by our employees and our external stakeholders. Among many accomplishments, Richard has been instrumental in developing Enbridge's disciplined capital investment process and assuring a prudent approach to financial management. He is also responsible for the creation of our sponsored vehicles, Enbridge Energy Partners and Enbridge Income Fund, as well as securing Enbridge's investment in Gaz Metro through the Noverco structure. Enbridge's executive leadership team and our Board of Directors greatly appreciate Richard's contribution to Enbridge's success.
"We are also very pleased to have John Whelen and Vern Yu assuming their new roles within our leadership team.
"The fact that we have the internal bench strength to fill two such critical senior roles is a confirmation of the effectiveness of our succession management and leadership development program. One of Richard's main responsibilities for the rest of the year will be to support John and Vern in their new roles."
About Enbridge Inc.
Enbridge Inc., a Canadian Company, is a North American leader in delivering energy and has been included on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World ranking for the past six years. As a transporter of energy, Enbridge operates, in Canada and the U.S., the world's longest crude oil and liquids transportation system. The Company also has a significant and growing involvement in natural gas gathering, transmission and midstream businesses, and an increasing involvement in power transmission. As a distributor of energy, Enbridge owns and operates Canada's largest natural gas distribution company, and provides distribution services in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. As a generator of energy, Enbridge has interests in 1,800 megawatts of renewable and alternative energy generating capacity and is expanding its interests in wind and solar energy and geothermal. Enbridge employs more than 10,000 people, primarily in Canada and the U.S. and is ranked as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for 2014. Enbridge's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ENB. For more information, visit www.enbridge.com. None of the information contained in, or connected to, Enbridge's website is incorporated in or otherwise part of this news release.
Biographies
| John Whelen |
| Senior Vice President, Finance |
| Enbridge Inc. |
John Whelen is currently the Senior Vice President and Controller for Enbridge Inc. Effective July 1, 2014, he will become the Senior Vice President, Finance for Enbridge Inc. He will retain executive leadership of the Company's financial reporting function and will assume responsibility for Enbridge's tax and treasury functions.
John began his career with Enbridge in 1992 when he joined the Consumers Gas Company (now Enbridge Gas Distribution) as Manager of Treasury. Since that time, he has held roles of increasing responsibility within the finance organization at Enbridge. Prior to his role as Controller, John held a number of other senior management positions including Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Vice President & Treasurer responsible for cash management and banking, corporate finance and risk management. He also served as President of the Company's publicly traded affiliate Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. and its predecessor, Enbridge Income Fund from 2008 through the end of 2013.
Prior to joining Enbridge, John worked in the financial services sector in a variety of roles focused on funding and treasury management. John holds an MBA (Finance) from McMaster University and a B.Sc. (Economics) from the University of Victoria.
| Vern Yu |
| Senior Vice President, Corporate Development |
| Enbridge Inc. |
Vern Yu is currently the Senior Vice President, Liquids Pipelines Business and Market Development. Effective July 1, 2014, he will become the Senior Vice President, Corporate Development for Enbridge Inc. He will be responsible for Enbridge's corporate planning and development function, including strategic planning and investment review. He will also be responsible for the oversight of Enbridge's new growth platforms: renewable energy, international and energy services.
In his senior executive role with the Liquids Pipelines Business and Market Development group, Vern has been responsible for all business and market development activities for Enbridge's crude oil infrastructure business. He led the Liquid Pipelines business development team securing more than $30B in new growth projects, which will facilitate new market access for our customers. Vern also served as Vice President, Investor Relations and Enterprise Risk, and has held leadership roles in capital markets, financial risk management and treasury functions.
Vern currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Alberta Cancer Foundation's Board of Trustees and is the 2014 Chair of the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer.
Before coming to Enbridge in 1993, Vern worked as an engineer at TransCanada Pipelines and Bow Valley Industries. He has an MBA in Finance from the University of Toronto and a B.Sc. (Applied Science) from Queen's University.
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