Charlie Fisher spent nearly four decades in Calgary’s energy sector, capping his career as President and Chief Executive Officer of Nexen, before turning his post retirement years toward patient advocacy and hospital fundraising. The Southern Alberta Business Hall of Fame recognized him in 2022, placing him among laureates whose business careers were matched by an equally serious commitment to Calgary’s civic institutions. Few executives manage that second act with the same intensity they brought to their corner office, but Fisher’s post-Nexen record suggests he never really slowed down.
From Saskatoon to the Top of Nexen
Born in Saskatoon on March 21, 1950, Fisher studied at the University of Calgary, earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering in 1971 and, more than a decade later, a Master of Business Administration in Finance in 1982. His early career took him through Dome Petroleum, Hudson’s Bay Oil and Gas, and Bow Valley Industries before he joined TransCanada Pipelines in 1988 as President of its upstream oil and gas subsidiaries. He joined Nexen in 1994 as Senior Vice President of Exploration and Production for North America, and on June 1, 2001, he was appointed President and CEO, a post he held until his retirement at the end of 2008, guiding the company through years of growth in one of the toughest corners of the energy business.
Boardrooms and Climate Policy
After Nexen, Fisher’s schedule filled with board seats rather than slowing down. He served on the boards of Pure Technologies Ltd., Enbridge Inc., the Climate Change and Emission Management Corporation, Alberta Innovates-Energy and Environment Solutions, and Nova Chemicals, among others. He co-chaired Climate Change Central for ten years until his retirement from that board in January 2011, and he took part in the Clean Energy Dialogue between the governments of Canada and the United States, co-chairing its discussions on carbon capture and storage, work that put him squarely in the middle of Alberta’s early efforts to shape climate policy rather than simply react to it.
Championing a New Children’s Hospital
In 2015, Fisher co-founded IMAGINE: Citizens Collaborating for Health, an organization focused on improving patient experience and outcomes, a cause that grew out of his own work as a patient advocate. His community roles included chairing the Hull Child and Family Foundation, sitting on the Honorary Patrons’ Council for the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, and serving as Vice Chair of the Canada West Foundation and the University of Calgary’s Board of Governors. Following his term on the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation board, he co-chaired a capital campaign that raised more than 50 million dollars toward building a new Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, work that earned him the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Generosity of Spirit Award and left a physical landmark that Calgary families still use today.
A Career Fully Recognized
Fisher’s list of honours includes a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, SAIT’s President’s Partnership Award, the University of Calgary’s Hal Godwin Award for Excellence in International Business, and the Haskayne School of Business Distinguished Leader Award, alongside an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Calgary. He was named the Alberta Chamber of Resources’ Resource Person of the Year and the Energy Council of Canada’s Canadian Energy Person of the Year in 2009, received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship in 2010, and was inducted into both the Saskatchewan Petroleum Hall of Fame and the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame. He received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2018, and joined the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2020. Away from the boardroom, Fisher was an avid skier who also enjoyed tennis and golf. He was married to Joanne Cuthbertson, Chancellor Emerita of the University of Calgary, and is remembered by daughters Kate and Lindsay and grandchildren Eloise and Tom. Fisher’s complete biography is preserved by JA Southern Alberta at jasab.ca.
How many Calgarians can say they helped run a major energy company and helped build a children’s hospital in the same lifetime?
