The Calgary Airport Authority’s Board of Directors is committed to maintaining the highest standards of corpo-rate governance. They regularly review and update The Authority’s corporate governance systems in light of changing practices, expectations and legal requirements, so that The Authority achieves the purposes in the Regional Airports Authorities Act (Alberta).

Responsible for fostering the long-term success of The Authority, The Board undertakes several governance activities to ensure compliance with applicable laws and promote ethical conduct, integrity and transparency.

The Board has adopted an annual strategic planning process that considers the long-term enhancements of the terminal and the overall airport experience, ensuring that people development, innovation and strategic partnerships are the core values of the airport’s success.

The Board also oversees management, who are responsible for the day-to-day conduct of the business, with the fundamental objective of ensuring that the Authority meets its obligations and operates in a safe, secure and efficient manner. Directors regularly meet in camera at both Committee and Board meetings.

The Board is composed exclusively of independent directors who are expected to carry out their duties honestly and with integrity.

Each Director annually signs The Authority’s Code of Business Conduct and Conflict of Interest Policy and follows the procedures with respect to disclosure of any potential conflict of interest. 

The Authority has several systems in place to identify, manage and mitigate various risks, including:

• An organizational structure with dedicated safety, security, and emergency planning and response personnel.
• Corporate policies and plans covering key governance, strategic, operational and financial issues.
• Environmental protection, including air and water quality, solid waste and hazardous materials management, natural resources, endangered species and a comprehensive noise management program.
• A comprehensive management information and reporting system, which includes regular reporting directly to the Board on key financial results and operational matters.
• Robust Safety Management System policies, processes and procedures.
• Incident reporting, including response and remedial procedures.
• Comprehensive risk-based cybersecurity program, which includes regular reporting to the Board.
• Comprehensive insurance, audit and compliance programs.
• A communications and stakeholder relations program.
• A Delegation of Authority Policy and an Authorities Framework Matrix, which defines management authorities.

Enterprise Risk Management

The Board and management of The Authority are committed to a disciplined approach to enterprise risk management. The Authority regularly assesses enterprise risk management capacity and processes, which includes reference to risk appetite and tolerance statements, an enterprise risk matrix and identification of its principal risk profile.

The composition of our Board reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, through the experience, skills and gender of our Directors. Our Board consists of prominent leaders in finance, business, commerce, law, government, engineering, air transportation and aviation from both local and global for-profit and non-profit businesses. These leaders have the business acumen and experience to provide governance over the affairs of The Authority.

The Directors are appointed by four organizations:

• Long-Range Planning Committee of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce (eleven)
• City of Calgary (three)
• Federal Government (two)
• Rocky View County (one)

Our Directors are appointed to a four-year term and are eligible for re-appointment for one additional term for a maximum of eight years.

Board of Directors (as of Dec. 31, 2021)

• Matthew (Matt) Heffernan, Board Chair
• Jina Abells Morissette
• David C. Blom, CPA, CA, TEP, ICD.D, FEA
• Randolph (Randy) M. Charron
• Donald (Don) Cormack, CPA, ICD.D
• Andrea Goertz
• Heather Kennedy, P.Eng, F.C.A.E.
• Grant B. MacEachern
• James Midwinter
• Manjit Minhas
• Lisa Oldridge, CFA, ICD.D
• Craig Richmond, MBA
• Andrea Robertson
• Phillip (Phil) J. Scheibel
• Sheldon Schroeder, P.Eng.
• Murray Sigler

Composition of Management

The Board appoints The Authority’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and sets and reviews his/her/their annual goals. Succession planning, including the appointment, training and evaluation of senior management, is regularly monitored by the Governance and Compensation Committee of the board. The Board appoints the corporate officers.

Corporate Officers (as of Dec. 31, 2021)

• Robert (Bob) Sartor, President & Chief Executive Officer
• Carmelle Hunka, General Counsel, Vice President, People, Risk & General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
• Chris Miles, Vice President, Operations & Infrastructure
• Robert (Rob) J. Palmer, Vice President, Commercial, Strategy & Chief Financial Officer 

The Board strives to ensure it has the collective skills and experience required to maintain the health of The Authority and to guide its long-term success. The Board Skills and Experience Matrix allows us to identify the needs for both mandated and strategic skills, and to assist our Appointers in making their appointments.

Our Board consists of prominent leaders in air transportation, aviation, finance, business, commerce, law, government, and engineering, from both local and global for-profit and non-profit businesses and have the acumen and experience to provide governance on all Authority affairs.

Each new Director receives a comprehensive orientation at the start of their appointments and ongoing education throughout their terms. This includes meetings with the President and CEO, corporate counsel, site-specific and facility tours and pertinent information regarding Board and corporate operations.

The Board meets as often as is required to carry out its responsibilities in addition to maintaining three standing committees, which are ultimately accountable to the board. The committees and their respective chairs as of Dec. 31, 2021 were:

Committee and Chair

• Audit & Finance: Donald  (Don) Cormack
• Governance & Compensation: Grant MacEachern
• Planning & Development: Andrea Robertson 

Each of the three committees have a Board-approved terms of reference, an annual due diligence work plan and a Chair who reports back to the board on the committee’s activities. The Chair of the Board of Directors and the Governance and Compensation Committee ensure the Board’s independence is respected and preserved.

> 2021 Committee Descriptions (PDF)

The Authority strives to achieve an optimal level of public and stakeholder accountability through a communications and stakeholder relations program, which includes processes associated with communicating to the general public, industry stakeholders, governments, appointers and Authority employees (YYC Crew). The processes involved in achieving this level of accountability include:

• A public annual general meeting (AGM)
• A published annual report, including audited financial statements
• An independent review of management operations and financial performance every five years, including a published report
• Annual meetings with all appointers, which are attended by the Board of Directors, senior management and external auditors
• Compliance with the Canada Lease
• Regulatory compliance

• Meetings with key stakeholders
• Public notice of fee changes, including Airport Improvement Fee (AIF)
• A community consultative committee
• A noise management program
• An accessibility advisory council
• Meetings with airport operators and tenants
• Meetings with civic officials and community organizations

The Authority reports on contracts in excess of $130,000 (adjusted periodically by Consumer Price Index (CPI) from an original threshold of $75,000) that were not awarded through a public tender process. In 2020, the following awarded contracts met this criteria:

> 2021 Awarded Contracts (PDF)