Some Hall of Fame inductions celebrate one career. The 2025 Southern Alberta Business Hall of Fame class included a pair built on two, when Michael and Heather Culbert were recognized together.
Mike Culbert’s Four Decades in Energy
Mike Culbert brings more than 40 years of experience to Alberta’s energy sector. He co-founded Progress Energy and served as its President and CEO before later becoming Vice Chairman of PETRONAS Energy Canada Ltd. He also played a central role in advancing Canada’s LNG strategy as President of Pacific NorthWest LNG. Today he sits on the boards of TC Energy and ARC Resources, following earlier board positions at several other companies. As a founding member of the Energy Stream at the Creative Destruction Lab at the University of Calgary, he has stayed close to the technology and innovation side of the industry as well. He is also a Patron of the Rogers Charity Classic PGA Champions Tour, which has raised over $130 million for Alberta youth since it began, and in 2019 he received the Distinguished Business Leader award recognizing ethical leadership from the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.
Heather Culbert’s Boardrooms and Fundraising Campaigns
Heather Culbert has spent 35 years in leadership roles across the public and private sectors, including as a former Senior Vice President at Enerplus. She currently serves on the boards of Export Development Canada, Catapult Environmental, and the Fraser Institute, and has previously chaired both SAIT and ARIAC. She has also championed gender diversity in business through co-founding Board Ready Women and Axis Connects. As Co-Chair of the OWN.CANCER Campaign, she helped raise $300 million in support of Calgary’s Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre, one of the largest healthcare fundraising initiatives in the country. Her own recognition includes being named Calgary’s 2024 Citizen of the Year, along with the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal and the Governor General’s Sovereign Medal for Volunteers.
A Partnership Built on Giving Back
Together, the Culberts are founding investors in the United Way’s All In for Youth initiative, and they have backed major Calgary campaigns including OWN.CANCER and the RESOLVE campaign to end homelessness. What stands out about the Culberts’ joint induction is the range of causes they have chosen to support, from cancer research and homelessness to youth mentorship and gender diversity in business, as much as the size of the numbers attached to their philanthropy.
The Culberts’ full laureate biography is available on the Southern Alberta Business Hall of Fame website, where they were inducted together as part of the 2025 class.
The Culberts built separate careers that keep returning to the same Calgary causes.
