Toronto: Finn Greflund, one of the longest-serving and most successful developers of independent power in Canada, received the Hedley Palmer Award at the APPrO banquet dinner on November 16.
Mr. Greflund’s long time colleague at TransCanada, Alex Pourbaix, explained to the audience of more than 500 people at the APPrO 2010 banquet dinner the depth of Mr. Greflund’s commitment to working in Ontario: “Finn is so committed to Ontario that he was actually able to convince TransCanada’s senior management to let him and his small group of Business Development staff stay in Toronto when the entire company moved to Calgary in 1990.”
Mr. Pourbaix said, “For 17 years, Finn and I have worked very closely to build the power business and I can say with utter conviction that had it not been for Finn’s efforts and drive, TransCanada would not have a power business today. Over that time, Finn has led the development of a huge portfolio of power plants; from our earliest forays into small enhanced combined cycle plants at our mainline compressor sites to huge stand-alone combined cycle plants such as Portlands Energy Center in downtown Toronto or Halton Hills.”
The accolades were not just professional but also personal. Mr. Pourbaix noted that “Finn’s career is an excellent example that nice guys can really finish first. He has achieved all of this business success while at the same time building a talented, committed team and earning the respect and regard of everyone here tonight.”
APPrO’s Chair Sam Mantenuto formally presented the award and made a few observations of his own, congratulating Mr. Greflund and thanking him for his extensive contributions to the work of APPrO over the years.