Our Team
- Aziz Khadem
- Chief Executive Officer
Aziz has broad experience working with First Nations in Canada since 1992, as well as with Indigenous groups in the US, Africa and the Middle East to address community planning and safety needs; support building their internal capacities and self-reliance; as well as bringing career skills development opportunities to their communities.
Aziz has been the president of the Risk Control Group, an international risk management and security consultancy, and was Vice President of Lions Gate RMG, one of Canada’s premier risk management firms. Aziz has 19+ years of diverse domestic and international business experience, leading teams and projects with $5 to +10MM budgets, including in austere and high-risk environments. He has provided strategic leadership in risk management to critical infrastructure operations to all levels of government, as well as to the energy, extractive, and industrial sectors.
Skilled at building consensus and securing buy-in from various stakeholders, Aziz is recognized for finding solutions to complex problems, and building effective working relationships amongst groups and people with competing interests.
Aziz has a Master’s degree in Human Security, focusing on issues surrounding reliable access to energy, food and clean water for Indigenous peoples in Canada and internationally.
- Ben Lee
- President
Ben gained his Aerospace Engineering degree from Carleton University and developed his unique specialization as a heat transfer subject matter expert in the resource sector, working in Canada and internationally.
He has been responsible for projects ranging from $15MM to $40+MM, holding senior positions responsible for project development, design, implementation, and operation, including for companies such as Woodside Petroleum, Encana and Cenovus Energy.
Ben is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APPEGA), as well as StromTech’s representative to the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association (CANGEA); is recognized as a proven innovator by his peers; and has achieved multiple industry firsts, including a patent to his name.
- Martin Vandenbeld
- Manager, Environmental & Regulatory Compliance
Following graduation from SAIT as a Certified Engineering Technologist, Martin spent 30 years with the Alberta Energy Regulator (and predecessor Boards) in various roles, including as an AER Board appointed Examiner and Section Leader and Senior Advisor. As an Examiner, Martin conducted numerous landowner public hearings on behalf of the Board throughout Alberta, and he was the designated signatory to approve industry permit applications for all well, facility and pipelines.
Recognized as a subject matter expert on pipelines, Martin was also responsible for the development and implementation of the AER Directive 56, Integrated Application Registry, Planning and Proliferation Guidelines and worked extensively with landowners, Municipalities, multi-stakeholder groups, First Nations to inform, educate on regulatory compliance of processes and requirements as they pertain to the oil & gas industry.
Upon leaving the AER, Martin worked for 7 years with Shell, leading a team of Regulatory Specialists in obtaining all needed regulatory approvals for Shell projects across Canada. His team assisted project managers in developing projects ranging in the hundreds of millions of dollars.Martin also worked overseas as the Environmental and Social Performance Manager in Iraq. Upon return to Canada, Martin led a team of Environmental Coordinators and developed and implemented a comprehensive regulatory compliance model.
Martin is an industry recognized subject matter expert in the assessment, interpretation, and provision of AER, AUC, NEB, and OGC regulatory statutes, and has been a guest speaker and instructor at SAIT, Olds College, Enform, CAPP, CAPL and numerous seminars, public forums and multi-stakeholder groups.
- Harry Schaepsmeyer
- Principal Drilling Engineer
Throughout his 30+ year career, Harry has acquired extensive drilling engineering experience in the oil and gas industry both locally and internationally. Harry has worked on directional drilling planning and operations in all areas of Western Canada including the Territories. He was involved in the directional drilling planning and execution of Western Geopower’s Meagre Creek geothermal project in Pemberton, BC and the planning and execution of over 600 Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) wells and more than 150 wells drilled into live (>180°C) steam chambers. His projects have ranged in size from $1MM to $25MM.
Harry was involved in the creation of testing standards for thermal casing connections and has participated in the re-writing of Industry Recommended Practice (IRP) 3, Heavy Oil Operations. For IRP 3, Harry provided technical and operational input for thermal well design and drilling operations as well as field development considerations.
Harry is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Canadian Association of Drilling Engineers, and serves on the Drilling and Completions committee of the Canadian Heavy Oil Association. Harry is also a member and participant of the International Operator’s Wellbore Survey Group and was involved in the creation of Recommended Practice (RP) 78, Wellbore Positioning, for the American Petroleum Institute.
- Joseph R.R. (Reg) Létourneau
- Manager – Infrastructure and Development
Reg is a Geographic Information Science professional with thirty years’ experience consulting in a wide array of fields ranging from urban master planning to First Nations land claims, both locally and abroad.
Experienced with oil and gas asset acquisition projects, Reg is part of StromTech’s leadership team providing his expertise to identify and pursue infrastructure and infrastructure development opportunities that align with StromTech’s core values and operational capabilities.
Born and raised in Ontario, Reg graduated from the University of Victoria with a BA in Geography and Industrial Psychology double major, followed by service in the Canadian Army as an officer. Pursuing a lifelong passion for advanced learning, Reg got a Civil Engineering diploma and a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) certificate, becoming a subject matter expert in this field.
Reg subsequently developed, pursued and received approval for, and led the GIS Applied Degree program for the Southern Institute of Technology (SAIT) from 2000 to 2008, before returning to the corporate world where he led urban master planning and various economic, social and educational development projects for government and NGO organizations, including in Tanzania (with the UN), Iraq (Kurdish Gov’t), Central/Latin America and throughout Canada.
- Luke Radke
- Corporate Controller
Luke is a professional accountant whose background is in both oil and gas, and construction. Luke graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, then pursued and completed the Strategic Leadership Program, earning him the CMA and CPA professional designations.
He has overseen a variety of projects as Corporate Controller, and was responsible for budgets ranging from $1M to $22M. His major projects included the design development of a new Internal Billing Procedure for a Fortune 500 company, and the successful programming and implementation of an ERP system for a family of 3 companies.
Luke is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta, and a Certified Management Accountant.
StromTech specializes in supporting self-determined communities by encouraging the use of local natural resources to develop sustainable, independent energy systems.