John Chin Sung Lau

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John C. S. Lau has played a significant role in developing the economy of Canada and the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador. Under his leadership, Husky Energy Inc. has also made significant contributions to Memorial University.

Mr. Lau earned bachelor of economics and bachelor of commerce degrees from the University of Queensland, Australia. Before joining Husky, he served in a number of senior executive roles within the Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited and Hutchison Whampoa Limited group of companies. He was appointed chief executive officer of Husky Oil (now Husky Energy) in 1993. As president and CEO, Mr. Lau is a member of Husky’s board of directors and is responsible for corporate direction, strategic planning and corporate policies. By 2002 Husky was Canada’s fourth largest oil company. Husky is one of the largest acreage holders in Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore energy industry, with one field in production, one under development and more than one million acres of exploration lands.

Mr. Lau served on the board of governors of the University of Calgary for six years. He has been a board member of the Alberta Economic Development Authority and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. He is also highly regarded for philanthropic leadership, including endowing the Calgary Foundation to establish the Husky Community Emergency Fund. He is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Australian Society of Accountants, the Hong Kong Society of Accountants, the Taxation Institute of Hong Kong, and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Administrators of the United Kingdom.

In 2003 Mr. Lau was instrumental in establishing the first endowed chair position at Memorial University. The Husky Energy Chair in Oil and Gas Research will focus on reservoir characterization, especially the utilization of seismic imaging techniques for reservoir management and will greatly enhance the petroleum reservoir team being built by the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and the Department of Earth Sciences.

Pages >> Biographical Notes | Address to Convocation | Oration