
We have a unique partnership model that offers ownership opportunities to top
performing employees in key positions. As a result, our owners come from the ranks of our
own workforce. They're seasoned technical professionals and they're all actively engaged in
the operations of our company. This is good for Vista and even better for our clients.
Vista owners who have a financial stake in our mutual success are managing your projects. It
gives you a level of accountability and accessibility that's becoming a rarity in the oil patch.
Furthermore, because we are employee owned, we can make decisions that are based on
local project realities. We can be flexible and let project schedule needs shape our
recommendations. If we like the look of a project and believe in its potential, we're not
obligated to meet quarterly targets or adhere to rigid policies laid down by some distant head
office.
We created our company to serve energy producers in Western Canada. As their needs evolve,
so do ours. But the basics that we bring to the table as engineers - technical competence,
delivering tangible value, innovation and responsible growth - these haven't changed in 26
years. And they probably never will.
Alex Campbell, P.Eng.
Founder, Principal
After graduating from the University of Saskatchewan with a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering in 1969, Alex worked in Eastern Canada and internationally before returning to Western Canada to start Vista Projects in 1985.
After 25 years, Alex still remains one of Vista's senior process engineers and project managers. In addition to his significant role on projects, Alex's insight and rich industry experience are invaluable to operational management. As Vista continues to grow, Alex mentors our engineering teams and acts as the sponsor on a series of large-scale SAGD projects, in addition to maintaining an active role in overall company management.
Alex is affiliated with APEGGA, APEGS, APEGBC, ISA, GPAC and CHOA.
Amit Varma, MBA
Principal, Business Manager
Amit focuses on building capability within Vista by way of an effective operations strategy that enables Vista to generate increasingly better value for its employees, customers, and shareholders. He is responsible for driving business development, human resources, operations, and marketing functions.
Amit has 14 years of experience in start-up, business, and entrepreneurship experience in the engineering, banking, financial services, and outsourcing industries across several countries. He has a Masters Degree in Management from the University of Indore, India, has participated in the Global Advanced Management Program at the Indian School of Business and attended the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, United States.
Andy Phuong, P. Eng.
Principal, Lead Mechanical Engineer
Andy joined Vista in September 2002 when it was a 15-person organization and he has remained a key asset as the company has grown to over 230 people.
He brings over 16 years of EPC experience in the oil and gas industries. Over the past eight years, he has taken on increasing responsibility and leadership within the mechanical engineering team, producing exceptional work as part of our joint venture to execute sizeable project work for a major oil sands producer.
Andy graduated from the University of Alberta in 1994 and is a member of APEGGA.
Bashar Hussien, P.Eng.
Principal, Manager of Projects
Bashar is responsible for leading Vista's project management team. Over the past few years, he has managed the design of a variety of oil recovery methods, including THAI, SAGD, CSS and ASP.
His career has spanned the globe, with over 23 years of engineering, project management, and entrepreneurship experience. He has accumulated a broad range of experience in industrial project development, implementation, and project management in petroleum, petrochemical, steel and other heavy industries.
In addition to his chemical engineering background, Bashar earned a Ph.D. in 1999 in heavy oil upgrading through the use of the novel Discriminatory Destructive Distillation (3D) process.
Bashar is affiliated with APEGGA, APEGS and a member of CHOA.
Bob Rutberg, P.Eng.
Principal, Engineering Manager
As a Lead Mechanical Engineer with over 30 years of experience, Bob directs Vista's mechanical engineering activities.
Bob joined Vista in 2001 after gaining 20 years of experience in the design, evaluation, and operations management of oil and gas, waste processing, and utility facilities.
Bob graduated from the University of Alberta in 1981 and is a member of APEGGA and APEGS.
Brian Bewcyk
Principal, Procurement Manager
As Procurement Manager, Brian oversees all aspects of the procurement department. He joined Vista in 2004 and has since been leading the procurement on a series of expansion projects for one of our major long-term clients.
He has more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry with an extensive procurement and expediting background.
Brian has his Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC) Professional Development Level 4.
Colin Tough, B.Comm
Principal, Information Technology Manager
Colin graduated from the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business in 2000, where he earned a Commerce Degree, majoring in Information Systems.
He has remained with Vista since 2004 where his foresight has assisted in rapidly growing from just a few dozen employees to our company's current size. Colin currently leads a team of IT professionals in supporting and expanding Vista's IT infrastructure offerings to clients and staff.
Prior to his joining Vista, Colin consulted to a number of small and medium-sized businesses across diverse industries who appreciated the combination of technical expertise and business sense he brought to their organizations.
Curtis Smith, C.E.T.
Principal, Piping Lead
Curtis graduated from SAIT's Engineering Design & Drafting Technologies program in 1992 and joined Vista in 2006.
He currently leads the piping design efforts for a series of projects for a long-term client and major oil sands player. His previous 14 years experience has been largely in the fabrication of oil and gas equipment, with occasional onsite facility construction assignments.
Curtis is a C.E.T. with ASET.
Dmitriy Pershin
Principal, Document Control Manager
Dmitriy joined Vista in 2008 and brings over 12 years of progressive documentation and information management experience in oil and gas, mining and telecommunication industries.
Over the past three years, he has been spending most of his time leading, organizing and developing Document Control services in execution of SAGD projects of various sizes for a major oil sands player. Dmitriy's expertise, gained from different oil and gas engineering and construction projects as well as operations, leads a team of Document Control professionals supporting a series of projects being completed for a long-term client.
He graduated from Kazakh University of World Languages with Bachelor of Arts' Degree in linguistics. Dmitriy also has a Diploma in Document Control and Management, specialty in organization of bank databases.
Ian Beales, P.Eng.
Principal, Senior Project Engineer
Ian graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1977 and has over 30 years of experience engineering facilities for the upstream and downstream petroleum, heavy manufacturing, and chemical industries.
He joined Vista in 2006 and has since been focusing his expertise on the design of cold and thermal heavy oil facilities.
He is affiliated with APEGGA, APEGS and PEO.
Ian Uhrich
Principal, Senior Project Coordinator
Ian is a Senior Project Coordinator who brings substantial operational and facilities engineering experience to our team. He is a key member of the project engineering group for major SAGD projects.
After attending the University of Saskatchewan, Ian held various operations and management positions with a number of major Canadian oil and gas companies.
Ian gained extensive field operations experience while working in oil and gas in Edson, Fort St John and numerous construction sites throughout Western Canada.
Jeff Young, P.Eng.
Principal, Estimation Manager
A civil engineering graduate from The University of British Columbia (1996), Jeff is responsible for leading our project estimating team.
Before joining Vista, Jeff worked with a multi-national construction firm and held several key positions covering diverse roles. From the high-pressure environment of competitive tender estimating, to field implementation of 3D digital control systems, to field management of high profile projects, Jeff's twelve plus years of infrastructure construction provide valuable insight into large project estimation and controls.
Jeff is a member of APEGGA, APEGBC and sits on the Board of Directors of the Calgary Chinook Section of AACEI.
Jennifer Gray, P.Eng.
Principal, Mechanical Engineering Manager
Jennifer graduated from the University of Alberta in 1995 and is Vista's Mechanical Engineering Manager.
She joined Vista in 2001 and brings over 16 years of professional experience in design, evaluation, and construction of oil and gas facilities, sulphur fertilizer facilities, and heavy oil/bitumen processing.
Over the past nine years, she's spent much of her time executing a series of SAGD projects for a long-term client and a major oil sands player. Jennifer's expertise in produced water handling and treatment from thermal oil production has also been a great asset to our company and our clients.
Jennifer is affiliated with APEGGA.
Jiggs Bascon
Principal, Lead Civil / Structural Engineer
Jiggs brings to Vista a total of thirty years of civil and structural engineering experience in both technical and management roles in civil and structural engineering, project management, and construction. Twenty years of his experience in the civil/structural field were gained dealing with petrochemical projects and 12 years of which were on oil sands projects.
Jiggs earned his BS Civil Engineering from the Mapua Institute of Technology, Manila Philippines in 1980. In 1988 he completed Construction Project Management at Ateneo de Manila University, Manila Philippines.
Jinning Li, P.Eng.
Principal, Civil/Structural Engineering Manager
Jinning is responsible for leading Vista's civil and structural engineering and design teams. He joined Vista in 2004 after working nearly fourteen years with other international EPCM companies in the oil and gas industry. His specialties cover engineering, evaluation and construction of buildings, structures and foundations for oil and gas pipelines, plants, refineries and storage facilities. His focus has been on SAGD projects for the last seven years.
Jinning graduated from the North University of China in 1987 with a Bachelors degree in Engineering Mechanics, and earned a Masters degree from the Tianjin University in 1990.
Justin Purdie, BAH Econ.
Principal, Project Controls Manager
Since 2007 Justin has led Vista's Project Controls, Project Finance, and Risk Management teams.
An economics graduate from Queen's University (1994), Justin has over 15 years experience in corporate and project finance evaluation and management. His background includes major project risk analysis and management, venture capital investment management, business growth and strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate development.
Before joining Vista, Justin worked with major energy producers and owners across North America on integrated cost, schedule and project economics reviews and analysis for oil sands, SAGD, refinery, pipeline, gas compression, gas liquids and electricity transmission construction, turnaround, debottleneck and revamp projects.
Justin is a member of AACEI.
Keith Scott, P.Eng.
Principal, Project Manager
A University of Saskatchewan graduate (1967), Keith has been with Vista since 1990. In that time, he has travelled to Yemen, Albania, and throughout Western Canada delivering successful engineering solutions to Vista's clients.
Keith is a Senior Project Manager, with extensive design and operations experience in oil and gas production and major gas plant /refinery work.
Keith is a member of APEGGA, APEGBC, and APEGS.
Patrick Reilly, P.Eng.
Principal, Technology Manager
As Vista's Technology Manager, Patrick leads the implementation of technology solutions including IT infrastructure, 3D design systems and enterprise software.
He is responsible for ensuring that Vista is leveraging available technology and software solutions for projects and corporate systems. Patrick also serves as Vista's Material Control Manager, taking an active role in client deliverables for central plant facility projects.
Prior to joining Vista in 2007, Patrick specialized in software solutions for a variety of industries including the Electric Utility, Telecommunications, Finance and Airline industries.
Patrick graduated from the University of Calgary in 2000 where he earned a BSc in Electrical Engineering. He is a member of APEGGA.
Ray Akl, P.Eng.
Principal, Project Manager
Ray manages the expansion of a series of large-scale SAGD projects for a long-term client and major oil sands player. Ray joined Vista in 2004 as a civil team lead before moving into a project management role, where he also acts as a key liaison between engineering disciplines and the client's construction management teams.
In 2011, Ray was selected as one of Oilweek's Rising Stars, an award which recognizes the brightest and best up-and-comers in the Canadian oil and gas industry.
A civil engineering graduate from the University of Alberta (2000), Ray has 10 years of progressive technical and managerial experience.
Ray is a member of APEGGA.
Richard Campbell, M.Sc.
Managing Principal
As Vista's General Manager, Richard leads day-to-day operations and strategic decision-making. He is also tasked with ensuring Vista's growth is managed with vision and acumen. Prior to his current role, he served as Project Services Manager, leading the estimating, budgeting, reporting, and managing change on major SAGD projects.
Richard is a graduate of the University of Calgary's Harvard Business School's Program for Leadership Development, and London Business School, where he was a Sloan Fellow in Strategy and Leadership. He is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) and the Canadian Heavy Oil Association (CHOA), and sits on the Calgary Chamber of Commerce's Natural Resource Committee.
In 2009, Richard was named one of the Top 40 Calgarians under the age of 40, recognizing his professional accomplishments in leading Vista's growth over the past decade. In the same year, he raised over $20,000 to build libraries and schools in rural Nepal for the non-profit organization Room to Read.
Rizwan Hassan, CFA
Principal, Project Controls Lead
Rizwan is a Project Controls Lead focused on large-scale SAGD projects for a major oils sands client.
Prior to joining Vista, Riz worked as a management consultant in the finance and banking sectors, specializing in program/project management, performance management, IT strategy, and new business strategy. Riz's CFA Charter enables a comprehensive investment focus to each of his initiatives, measuring business decisions by their full-spectrum impact on core strategy and financials.
Riz graduated from Engineering Science at University of Toronto (1998), and holds a CFA Charter with the CFA Institute (2006).
Riz is a member of APEGGA and the Calgary Chapter of the CFA Society.
Scott Mussbacher, M.Sc., P.Eng.
Principal, Process Engineer
Scott is a key member of Vista's process engineering team. His experience spans a wide variety of projects including major SAGD facilities, THAI pads and pipelines, cold production, CSS, and gas processing facilities.
Scott is a 2003 Chemical Engineering Graduate from the University of Alberta. Following his B.Sc., Scott returned to the University of Alberta for a Masters of Science in Chemical Engineering. His thesis focused on the Effects of Energy Dissipation on Bitumen in Water systems. Scott presented his research at the 55th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference (2005) and has co-authored and presented at the 2008 International Water Conference.
Scott is a member of APEGGA.
Shane Torwalt, P.Eng.
Principal, Process Engineering Team Lead
Shane joined Vista in 2003 has since been a valuable resource and asset, taking on increasingly progressive roles on our major projects team and more recently taking on the role of process lead. He brings over 15 years of experience in the design of oil sands extraction plants, conventional/heavy oil facilities, and natural gas plants.
Besides process engineering, his skill-set also extends to project management for fast-tracked facility upgrades. Currently, Shane leads a group of process engineers, executing the detailed design of a major SAGD facility expansion for a long-term client.
Shane graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1996 and is affiliated with APEGGA.
Steve Byers, P.Eng.
Principal, Process Engineering Manager
A graduate of the University of Calgary (1989), Steve began consulting to Vista in 1997 and eventually joined the firm after working for more than 10 years at other multi-national engineering companies in Calgary.
Acting as the Process Engineering Manager for Vista's joint venture projects, Steve possesses extensive experience in SAGD technology and gas processing (sweetening, compression, dew point control/refrigeration, LPG recovery and fractionation).
Steve is registered as a professional engineer with APEGGA and APEGS.
Tyler Elchuk, MBA
Principal, Business Development Manager
At Vista, Tyler has held several roles since joining in 2009 including Operations Lead, HR Manager and currently Business Development Manager. In his current role, he is responsible for managing relationships with new and existing clients. In addition, Tyler is part of a team responsible for executing strategic projects.
Tyler holds a degree in Electronic Systems Engineering from the University of Regina and an MBA from the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary. Prior to joining Vista, Tyler worked in strategic planning and business analysis for an oil and gas services company and various engineering roles in satellite communication, cellular base stations and high precision GPS.