Gord Winkel

Gord Winkel has been a lifetime resident in the province of Alberta, Canada. He first lived in Edmonton where he attended the University of Alberta and graduated in 1977 with a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He stayed on with the university to complete a Masters of Science degree in the same field while conducting wind tunnel research.

Gord joined Syncrude Canada Ltd. in 1979 as a Mining Research Engineer where he worked to improve the performance of heavy surface mining equipment systems comprised of draglines, bucketwheels and overland conveyors. In 1985 Gord pursued a career interest in operations management and moved his young family to Fort McMurray where he joined the Syncrude Mining organization. He worked there in various capacities becoming Manager of Mine Maintenance in 1989.

In 1995 Gord joined a project team to design an oilsands hydrotransport system for Syncrude’s expanded mining operation and continued to work as a Mining Manager for several different divisions. In 1996 he entered the mineral processing field as Manager of Extraction Operations and became General Manager of Syncrude Extraction in 1997.

During his time with Extraction, Gord worked to integrate Mining and Extraction processes and in early 2001 worked with a task force to support Syncrude’s new Aurora operation. Shortly thereafter he became Vice President of Aurora Bitumen Production in Syncrude where he continues today. He greatly enjoys working with the people in the Syncrude Aurora operation to safely and efficiently produce bitumen from mined oilsand.

Gord and his wife Jan have enjoyed raising their four children in Fort McMurray. Gord is an avid reader and practices triathlete sports. His community efforts include serving as chair of the board for the local YMCA, participating as a school board member, and working with Jan on other volunteer activities. He also enjoys travel with his family and friends. Gord’s work to improve workplace safety led to a Distinguished Lecturer Award in this area for the Canadian Institute of Mining in 2002/2003.