Mr. Ronald Triffo, P.Eng., began his association with Stantec in the late ‘70s and was appointed President in 1983. Despite being hit hard by the NEP-induced industry fallout, he kept the company viable and profitable between 1983 and 1985 by downsizing from 400 to 200 staff in response to the severe contraction of the western Canadian economy.

This marked the inauguration of what would come to be known as the Triffo era. Mr. Triffo and his management team reinvented the Stantec business model. They implemented a total paradigm shift – an action plan to increase diversification of services and geographic locations primarily through targeted acquisitions.

Between 1984 and its initial public offering in 1994, Stantec acquired 13 firms in Canada and two in the US, leading to the development of a corporate structure defined by a group of subsidiaries providing a variety of services and operating as independent profit centres. By 1998, under Mr. Triffo’s leadership, Stantec had grown from 200 to 2,000 employees and the corporate culture of growth and entrepreneurship had been well established. In 1998, Mr. Triffo became Chairman and passed the role of CEO to Mr. Tony Franceschini, P.Eng., his long time associate and colleague and only the third CEO in the company’s history since its founding by Dr. Don Stanley, P.Eng.

Today, with 4,000 employees, 50 straight years of profitability and having completed more than 40,000 projects in some 80 countries, Stantec has a track record of consistently delivering excellence to clients including Imperial Oil, Carma, Wal-Mart, Proctor & Gamble, Schneiders and Syncrude; global institutions like the World Bank, the Asian and Inter-American Development Banks and the UN Development Program; as well as all levels of government throughout North America and internationally.

Over the years, Stantec has received numerous award citations for project partnering, infrastructure and technology innovation. Engineering News Record named Stantec to its list of Top 150 Global Firms – out of more than 150,000 worldwide – while Alberta Venture recently recognized Stantec among the Most Respected Corporations for Corporate Performance in Alberta.

Technological innovation is a part of Stantec’s corporate culture that often distinguishes the company from its peers and is a characteristic that is strongly supported by Mr. Triffo. During his tenure, Stantec has seen considerable success on several technological fronts, including software licensing and sales of the RT-2002 high-tech road tester vehicle, Modified Sequencing Batch Reactor (MSBR™) biological simulation software and the unique Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) process technology. BNR applications have been designed by Stantec in the US, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, China and the Caribbean.

Mr. Triffo’s memorable words to Stantec stakeholders upon the occasion of becoming Chairman of the Board express the true measure of the man, “I believe that what, together, we have now built is only the beginning of a marvellous journey yet to unfold.”

Honours, Awards and Distinctions

• Recipient, Beaubien Award for lifetime contributions to the Canadian consulting engineering industry, 1999
• Recipient, Ernst & Young Service Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 1998
• Recipient, Alberta Venture magazine’s inaugural Business Person of the Year Award, 1997
• Fellow, Canadian Academy of Engineering

Professional Affiliations and Activities

• Chairman, Stantec Inc.
• Chairman, ATB Financial
• Chairman, Alberta Economic Development Authority
• Director, TELUS Corporation
• Vice-Chairman, Alberta Ingenuity Fund
• Member, Advisory Council, Faculty of Business, University of Alberta
• Member, Advisory Council, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta
• Member, Board of Governors, Junior Achievement of Northern Alberta
• Member, APEGGA Council, 2001-2003
• Past President, Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada, 1987-1988
• Past President, Consulting Engineers of Alberta, 1982-1983
• Past Executive Member, International Federation of Consulting Engineers, 1988-1992
• Past Director and Chairman, Edmonton Telephones Corporation
• Past Member, Board of Governors, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
• Past Director, Edmonton Economic Development Authority
• Past Director, Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce
• Past Council Member, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce
• Past Member, United Way Cabinet
• Past Member, Alberta Economic Development Council