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David brings 50 years of expertise, experience, and leadership, including oil and gas, renewable energy, health care, entrepreneurship, stakeholder engagement, business development, coaching, and conflict management. Over a ten-year period, David and partners started and developed five companies and four not-for-profits. Since 2007, Savage Management has focused on building capacity, innovation, and accountability in people and in and between organizations and communities.

David Savage works with leaders and organizations to advance their success through collaboration, negotiation, conflict resolution, and business development. David does this for clients through consulting, coaching, conflict resolution, and collaboration. We breakthrough complex challenges with values-based critical thinking to create share value.

Core Competencies    

Negotiations and Agreement Building, Business Development, Acquisitions, Management Consulting, Strategic Planning & Execution, Sustainability Engagement and Organizational Development, Facilitation, Management Leadership and Team Building, Stakeholder Engagement, Business Development, Conflict Management, Executive and Team Coaching plus 360 Leadership Assessments.

Getting the right people, in the right places, with the right systems and right resources to collaborate, innovate and figure out challenges together is the best way. And, if that is not possible, then guiding the parties to the right people, principles, processes, and systems to ensure everyone’s interests are heard and considered is the goal.

Key Corporate Experience

• Savage Management, President, (founder, 1993 to present, private, consulting, oil and gas management, coaching, leadership, and negotiation training, negotiation mastery circles and leader roundtables, conflict resolution and collaboration assessments)
• Oil, Natural Gas, and Renewable Energy
  • CEO/Director: Westar Petroleum
  • Vice President: Marmac Mines Ltd., Sebring Energy, TriQuest Energy, Sommer Energy, BXL Energy
  • Consultant to Hemisphere Energy and several junior Canadian energy companies.
  • Prior: Total Petroleum, Ashland Oil, Bank of Montreal, and Bank of Commerce
• Collaborative Global Initiative, (co-founder, 2013 to 2019, international collaborative design and systems, facilitation, multi-stakeholder organization engagement, integrative discovery, coaching, and training)
• Think SUSTAIN Ability, President, (co-founder, 2012 to 2016, private, consulting, thought leader roundtables and facilitation)

Related Experience

David’s applicable experience in bringing together diverse and multidisciplinary organizations, associations, and people to come to better collaborative solutions or procedures include:

Company to Company ADR Council (C2C). David was co-founder and Chair. Formed in 2003 with over one hundred volunteers to create recommendations, documentation, and process improvements to the upstream petroleum industry. A total of 13 professional, provincial and national organizations (including the National Energy Board of Canada, the Alberta Energy Regulator, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, Petroleum Joint Venture Association, Petroleum Accountants Society of Canada, the ADR Institute and Canadian Association of Petroleum Landmen) signed the declaration in 2006. Published “Let’s Talk: The Why and How to Manage Conflict and Improve Productivity, Profitability and Corporate Relationships”.

Synergy Alberta. David was on the founding board of directors bringing together energy companies, regulatory agencies, First Nations, environmentalists, and communities to build a network of prompt, trusted and respectful communications and understanding.

?aq’am Community Enterprises (part of the Ktunaxa Nation). David served as a director for five years and facilitated Strategic Planning for the Chief and Council.

In late 2019, David successfully facilitated negotiations between a Yukon First Nation and a small natural resource company.

In 2023, David successfully facilitated the creation of a multi-party Team Charter involving three diverse multi-billion-dollar organizations.

Alberta Energy Regulator (previously known as the Energy and Resources Conservation Board), David was the co-founder of the Appropriate Dispute Resolution Program in 1999 to enhance understanding, negotiations, conflict resolution and agreement building (or alternately process engagement where agreements may not be realistic) with a focus on energy development, landowners, and communities. Oil Sands Tailings Ponds Directive. David worked with the Energy and Utilities Board to facilitate world cafes with industry operators, regulators, Indigenous peoples, environmentalists, and the public to create better regulations and outcomes concerning tailings pond remediation.

Speaking Highlights include;

• Mediating the Evolution of Climate Justice for Mediators Beyond Borders International (Nov. 2020 global online seminar)
• Nobody Gets to be Right: How to Lead Collaboratively for Mediators Beyond Borders International (2019 global online seminar)
• Leading as a Positive Conflict Resolver: Don’t be an A.C.E. Hole for DisruptHR (2019 Calgary)
• How to Produce Better Outcomes through Well Designed Collaborations for Rotary International Conference (2018 Toronto)
• Creating Shared Value is the Way: Collaboration is the Path (2018 Haskayne, U. of Calgary)

Publications               

Ten books available in print, eBook, and audiobook.

• Better by Design: Your Best Collaboration Guide, Break Through to Yes: Unlocking the Possible within a Culture of Collaboration 2018 Edition, The Collaborative Podcast Series: Book 1: The Foundations For Collaboration, Book 2: The Collaborative Guest Podcasts, Book 3: The 10 Essential Steps and Book 4: Unlocking the Possible, Break Through to Yes: Unlocking the Possible within a Culture of Collaboration.
• Think Sustain Ability published Sustain Magazine.
• Company to Company Dispute Resolution Council published the Let’s Talk Handbook.
• Ready Aim Excel, 52 Leadership Lessons.

 

Volunteering

David’s Board of Directors/ executive positions include:

• Current:
  • Director, Waterton Glacier International Peace Park Association
  • Chair, Conservation and Environment Action Team, WGIPPA
• Past:
  • Director, ?aq’am (St. Mary’s Indian Band) Community Enterprises (Ktunaxa Nation)
  • Director, Mediators Beyond Borders International- Canada
  • Director, Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (Calgary)
  • Director, Heart and Stroke Foundation Alberta, Nunavut, and NWT
  • President, Petroleum Joint Venture Association
  • President, Rotary Club of Cranbrook Sunrise
  • Co-Chair, Rotary District 5080 (E. Washington, N. Idaho, and SE British Columbia) Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group
  • Co-Chair, Strategic Planning Sunrise Rotary
  • Advisor, Canadian Energy and Climate Nexus
  • Director, Trails BC
  • Chair, Calgary Chamber of Commerce Dispute Resolution Committee.
  • Member of numerous energy industry precedent agreement and protocols task forces on operating agreements, purchase and sale agreements, marketing agreements, farmout agreements and dispute resolution appendices.
  • More leadership Roles: Kootenay Rockies Gran Fondo, Great Divide Trail, Canadian Association of Petroleum Landmen, and TransCanada Trail.