Calgary-based Akita Drilling appoints lawyer Colin Dease as president and CEO

Dease previously served as legal counsel

Calgary-based Akita Drilling appoints lawyer Colin Dease as president and CEO

Akita Drilling Ltd. has appointed lawyer Colin Dease as president and chief executive officer, effective April 3.  Having been with the Alberta-based company for over twelve years, Dease will become the Akita’s fourth chief executive officer over the last thirty years. He succeeds Linda Southern-Heathcott who will continue to serve the company as executive chair.

"I am honoured by the opportunity to lead Akita Drilling," said Mr. Dease.  "I am fortunate to have been involved in a wide range of the company's business activities and learned a great deal from Akita's previous leadership team. Our company survived several challenging years and is now poised for recovery. It is an exciting time for Akita"

Dease gained practical experience growing up on a family farm in Saskatchewan before beginning his professional career as a lawyer in 2002, where he worked at two different law firms – Ogilvie LLP, and Borden Ladner Gervais LLP – prior to joining Akita.

During his twelve-year career at AKITA, he served as legal counsel, corporate secretary, vice-president of Canadian operations, Canadian division president, and president and chief operating officer. Dease currently serves as chairman of the board of the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors.

He also previously acted as lead drafter on design build construction contract for West LRT project which was The City of Calgary's largest construction procurement project at the time.

Akita is engaged in the contract drilling business in Western Canada and in the Permian Basin.

Recent articles & video

SCC finds company committed abusive tax avoidance in case dealing with general anti-avoidance rule

Medical reporting organisations are not medical experts, court rules

Roundup of law firm hires, promotions, departures: May 29, 2023 update

Critics decry ‘disjointed’ diversity disclosure options from securities administrators

For AI, intellectual property must now reward and incentivize creativity and inventiveness: lawyer

NS Supreme Court rejects unjust enrichment claim over in-law suite renovations

Most Read Articles

SCC notes importance of defending marginalized groups with ‘counter-speech’ in anti-SLAPP ruling

Massive interest in AI comes with significant responsibilities: McCarthy Tétrault’s Charles Morgan

Thomson Reuters upends legal drafting with Microsoft Word AI integration

For AI, intellectual property must now reward and incentivize creativity and inventiveness: lawyer