Power finance trailblazer William Sutherland was presented the Hedley Palmer Award and enthusiastically applauded by hundreds of guests at the 2016 Canadian Power Conference annual banquet November 15 recognizing a range of achievements that have significantly benefitted the entire power industry.
APPrO President Dave Butters, Hedley Palmer 2016 Award winner William Sutherland, and APPrO Chair Mike Bernstein, at the presentation ceremony November 15 2016.
Michael Bernstein, the Chair of APPrO, the Association of Power Producers of Ontario, highlighted both Mr. Sutherland’s professional accomplishments and how his initiatives opened new avenues for financing power and infrastructure projects. Mr. Sutherland’s work enabled life insurance companies and other investors “to negotiate and lend directly to the sponsors of independent power projects,” Mr. Bernstein said. “That proved to be the secret sauce for many of our members’ projects.”
In addition, APPrO President Dave Butters commended Mr. Sutherland for his long standing connection to the Association of Power Producers of Ontario, having been connected with the association in one way or another since its early days.
Mr. Sutherland is currently the Senior Managing Director, Project Finance & Infrastructure at Manulife Financial Corporation where he heads the Project Finance, Public Private Partnership and Infrastructure Equity Teams. He recently announced plans to retire.
In making the presentation to Mr. Sutherland, Michael Bernstein said, “It would be very hard to have an IPP industry without capital. So tonight we are honouring one of the pioneers of project financing in the sector. Someone who for 20 years backed power projects and was one of the first to bring traditional financing to the emerging wind and renewable power sectors in Canada and the US. ... It is estimated that over his career he and his teams have been responsible for arranging or providing over $20B in financing … over $10B of this for the benefit of independent power projects in Canada and the US. That is a lot of MWs!”
Mr. Bernstein recounted key parts of Mr. Sutherland's professional life, noting that he “started his finance career 36 years ago as an analyst with The Bank of Nova Scotia. He later created and led project and corporate finance teams at Chase Manhattan Bank, Mitsubishi Bank and Deutsche Bank where he specialized in financing projects and mergers & acquisitions within the mining and metals, forestry, oil & gas, pipeline and power sectors. Barrick’s Goldstrike and Teck’s David Bell mines benefited from Bill’s expertise.
"Many of us in the industry really got to know Bill when he joined Clarica Life Insurance Company in 1998 where he created and headed a Project Finance Team dedicated to financing power and infrastructure projects in Canada. Following its success in the Canadian market, the group broadened its focus and became a pioneering and leading arranger and provider of financing to the U.S. wind power industry. The team moved to Manulife in 2002 and since that time has expanded its leadership role within the Canadian independent power and U.S. renewable power markets.
Mr. Bernstein continued, noting that "Bill came to our industry the “right way” - with a keen interest in technical things. He likes to know how things work. He is a Professional Engineer and holds both a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from Queen’s University. And both of his children are following in his footsteps and have always had a tool in hand and a desire to take things apart and explore. I was not told if they do a good job of putting things back together! His son, Will, is now a Mechanical and Aerospace Engineer / MBA, and daughter, Kaitie, a Mechanical Engineer with every intent on earning her MBA as well."
Mr. Bernstein concluded saying, "We would like to thank Bill for bringing his deal origination, structuring and syndication skills from the banking to the institutional lender market," adding "it was also a delight to work with Bill as a person. Congratulations and we wish you well on your next adventure."
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APPrO President Dave Butters, Hedley Palmer 2016 Award winner William Sutherland, and APPrO Chair Mike Bernstein, at the presentation ceremony November 15 2016.