June 29, 1998
'SILICON MOUNTAIN' DREAM OF EX-CEO
The chief executive of Nova Corp. will say goodbye to the perks of power as he pilots the Alberta-bred pipeline and chemicals schooner into the beckoning pier of TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. Shareholders of both firms will vote on the merged company. Then the forceful Newall sets sail again, but not into the cool, calm river of retirement. Not a chance. Not this dynamo. Newall will continue to sit on numerous boards, including the chairmanship of Nova Chemicals. And he'll put on his consulting cap in the same Bankers Hall quarters as his friend Dick Haskayne, the chairman of Nova's board. When I caught up with Newall recently, he was packing to move out of his newly-spartan Nova office. He looked tired, which was hardly surprising for a man who's worked feverishly over the last few years to bolster profits for his company. Along the way, Newall seemed to garner every national honor out there, including the Order of Canada and the Financial Post's prestigious CEO of the Year award. Now, at a time of life when many CEOs are happy to struggle with par at their country clubs, Newall has a new mission -- education and jobs. The tall, avuncular Newall, who will be 63 years old in August, looks more like an unassuming university professor than a captain of industry -- sort of an Indiana Jones gone back to teach archaeology. As the University of Calgary's board chairman, he's passionate about making Calgary and Alberta great through higher education and better jobs. "We're not funding our institutions to meet the needs of our future and our community," he says. "We need a vision that allows us to set priorities and to do things that deliver results for Calgary and Alberta long-term." Newall believes Calgary can become a major hi-tech centre in North America, a "Silicon Mountain" to California's Silicon Valley. He points to the horrendous shortage of software technicians and argues adamantly that we need radical increases in the faculties at Mount Royal College, SAIT and U of C. "We've slain the deficit dragon," says Newall, tipping his hat to Premier Ralph Klein. "Now we have to get back to the vision of making Calgary and Alberta great for now and the new millennium." That means ensuring a high quality of life, education, and jobs. It also means taking responsibility for health, education, and a strong social safety net. "Low income people are teetering on the abyss, afraid of debt, and afraid to borrow to go to university," he says. And there's little entrepreneurial room for kids with high school education only. They've got to have the means to go to Mount Royal, SAIT, or the U of C. While Newall wants the hi-tech training and the business and commerce faculties to expand substantially and be available to all, he doesn't want us to lose sight of what makes Calgary a civilized and sophisticated city. "We must never overlook our requirement to provide very high-quality education for our poets, musicians, historians and philosophers," he says. Newall was born in Saskatchewan but served business time -- too much time -- in Central Canada. Now, thankfully, he's all ours. Next Story: LANE CHANGES LOOM
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