Tom Whalen is the Vice President, Applied Research, Engineering & Specialized Testing Services at Alberta Innovates. In this role, he overseas both C-FER and our sister company, InnoTech Alberta, in derisking technologies through applied research and specialized testing. He continues to act as the Managing Director of C-FER Technologies, a position he has held since January 2023.

Tom has over 30 years’ experience in the energy sector managing companies or divisions in leadership roles such as President of Canada for a top three, global, integrated oilfield services company and President for a mid-sized rig equipment development and manufacturing company.

Tom excels at bringing a holistic, big picture focus to “look around corners” to see the future, quickly assess strategic levers to drive innovation and solve complex problems. He is a resilient, caring business and community leader by example, with a love for developing high performance teams and future leaders.

Tom earned his Master of Business Administration from Athabasca University in 2012. He has also served on numerous Boards over the last ten years including the Discovery House of Calgary and the Women in Need Society of Calgary.

In his spare time, Tom loves to spend quality time with his growing family and be with his three grandchildren. He loves winter sports, especially downhill skiing and hockey.