Richard F. Haskayne

At the Haskayne School of Business, we are proud to be named after legendary Canadian businessman Richard F. Haskayne, OC, AOE, FCA. On May 28, 2002, the school was named in his honour, and on that day the Haskayne Endowment for Achieving Excellence was created. This endowment allows the school to fund professorships, scholarships, and bursaries to attract and retain outstanding students and professors. The $16 million donation (including a sizeable parcel of real estate) made by the Haskaynes was the largest charitable contribution in the history of the university at the time, and one of the largest contributions to any business school in Canada.

Mr. Haskayne has led a distinguished career. He is the past chairman of the board of TransCanada Corporation retiring in April 2005. He was also chairman of Fording Inc., from 2001 to 2003, retiring when the company was converted into a trust. He was chairman of NOVA Corporation,  from 1992 to 1998 when the company merged with TransCanada PipeLines Limited (TCPL). Mr. Haskayne was chairman of TransAlta Corporation, from 1996 to 1998 and chairman of MacMillan Bloedel from 1996 to 1999 when it was acquired by Weyerhaeuser Company. Prior to 1992, he was chairman, president and CEO of Interhome Energy Inc., an integrated energy company with two principal business units – Interprovincial Pipe Line and Home Oil. Before joining Home Oil as president and CEO in 1982, he had spent more than 20 years with Hudson’s Bay Oil and Gas in various positions and was elected president of the company in 1980. He has served as director on 20 public company boards; among them, Manulife, AEC, Crestar, EnCana Corporation, Weyerhauser Company and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

He was a Trustee of AHFMR (Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research), is a board member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and the Alberta Bone and Joint Institute, and has served as an Advisory Committee Member for the Order of Canada.

Raised in Gleichen, Alberta, Mr. Haskayne received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta in 1956 and qualified as a chartered accountant in 1959. He is a fellow of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, a fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors, a member of the Financial Executives Institute and was a member of the CICA (Macdonald Commission) to Study the Public’s Expectations of Audits. He was chair of the Board of Governors of the University of Calgary from 1990 to 1996 and now holds the title, Board Chair Emeritus. He is past president of the Calgary Petroleum Club and a life member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Mr. Haskayne was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1997. In 1994, he received the Canadian Business Leader Award from the Faculty of Business at the University of Alberta and subsequently, an honorary Doctorate of Laws. He also holds an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Calgary. In 1997, he was the recipient of the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Management /Calgary Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Business Leader Award. In 2001 the University of Calgary honoured him with The Richard F. Haskayne Chair in Accounting and in 2002, the Faculty of Management was renamed the Haskayne School of Business..

The Institute of Chartered Accountants awarded him their Distinguished Service Award in 1995 and their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. He has also received the Distinguished Citizen Award from Mount Royal College and was made an Honorary Member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta.

In 2004, Richard Haskayne was the recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution. That same year, Mr. Haskayne was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame and he and his wife, Lois, were honoured by the Association of Fundraising Professionals with the Generosity of Spirit Award in recognition of their philanthropy. In October 2005, Mr. Haskayne was inducted into the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame and the Calgary Business Hall of Fame. In 2006 he was honoured with the Alberta Order of Excellence.