Key Influencer – Aaron Engen – President and Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO)

Source: BMO Capital Markets

The AESO announced on July 4, 2024, that CEO Michael Law would “leave the organization” after 15 years and introduced the new leader, Aaron Engen, who will assume the role of President and CEO effective August 1.

Engen, who has served on the AESO’s board since 2020 and is the current Chair of the Power System Committee, will bring more than two decades of investment banking experience. He most recently served as the Vice Chair of Investment and Corporate Banking at BMO Capital Markets, where his work focused on energy infrastructure, including power and utilities. During his time with BMO, Engen also co-headed the bank’s Power and Energy Infrastructure Group and the Energy Transition Group.

Before BMO Capital Markets, Engen was a partner at a major Canadian law firm, where he practiced corporate and securities law, principally in the power and utilities sector. He has also prepared evidence and appeared as an expert witness on behalf of regulated utilities before several Canadian regulators regarding the cost of capital, capital structure, and other regulatory matters.

Engen holds an MBA and an LLB from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Lethbridge.

Engen will be a foundational player as the AESO moves towards a new market design and significant energy transition activities, with a specific focus on the progression in the design work on the Restructure Energy Market in parallel with government policy.