Oil Sands

Mark Reder
Senior Vice President and Partner, General Manager
Fleishan-Hillard Vancouver

Mark Reder is senior vice president, partner and general manager at Fleishman-Hillard Canada, in Vancouver.

In addition to leading the Fleishman-Hillard public affairs and communications team in Vancouver, Mr. Reder is responsible for advising clients in a wide range of practice areas including stakeholder, community, government and media relations, public consultations, advocacy and issues management. Mr. Reder advises some of the leading public and private sector organizations operating in Western Canada on matters such as major project developments, crisis situations, policy and legislative change and corporate change and restructuring.

Mr. Reder has extensive experience working in the energy sector. His experience extends from assignments related to large, offshore oil and gas procurement to energy facility development projects in Canada and the US. Mr. Reder has played a key role in the development of oilsands infrastructure including the permitting of two key oildsands pipeline projects.

Mr. Reder’s energy consulting experience covers assignments on behalf of companies such as Conoco Phillips, BP North America, AES Corporation, Kinder Morgan, Covanta Energy, Terasen Gas Inc., Shell Canada, Pembina Pipelines, ARCO and various government departments dealing with energy and resource development and regulation..

Before joining Fleishman-Hillard Canada in 1997, Mr. Reder served as the commercial and economic consul at the British High Commission in Canada, where he was a key advocate of British interests in Western Canada. He has also served as a policy advisor to a provincial Cabinet Minister and has been actively involved in party politics in B.C.

Mr. Reder holds a BA in political science from the University of British Columbia. He studied Chinese at the National University in Taiwan, where he also helped establish the first ‘cross-cultural communications’ consulting practice in the country. Mr. Reder has worked and traveled extensively in Asia and Europe.

Morten Paulsen
Senior Vice President and Partner, General Manager
Fleishan-Hillard Calgary

Morten Paulsen brings over 15 years of public relations and government relations experience to our Calgary office as Senior Vice President, Partner and General Manager.

Mr. Paulsen served in various capacities for the Reform Party and Canadian Alliance, including Director of Public Relations, Director of Operations and National Campaign Manager. His involvement in politics also extends to the provincial and municipal levels where he has managed numerous campaigns and achieved success at driving legislative and policy change. In 2005, Mr. Paulsen was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal for service to Alberta.

After politics, Mr. Paulsen set up a successful consultancy serving clients ranging from professional associations, to First Nations, medical campaigns, and oil and gas. Paulsen is widely recognised as a senior voice in media relations in Calgary and is regularly called upon as a print and electronic commentator on issues ranging from politics to professional communications.

After joining Fleishman-Hillard in 2006, Mr. Paulsen has taken the lead on a range of high profile communications initiatives in Calgary and nationally, including oil and gas crisis communications, and leading the awareness and reputation campaign in Canada for one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers. Paulsen is a member of Fleishman-Hillard’s international oil and gas sector group.

Paulsen holds a B.A. from the University of Calgary and an M.A. from the University of California at Davis.

Paul Monlezun
Vice President
Fleishan-Hillard Ottawa

Paul Monlezun is a vice president with Fleishman-Hillard’s Ottawa office. He provides clients with proven experience in issues management, government relations, corporate and strategic communications, and crisis management.

Mr. Monlezun is client relationship manager for AbitibiBowater, North America’s largest forest products company and a top five Fleishman-Hillard client in Canada. Among other things, he also has developed a successful approach for helping companies respond to market pressure campaigns launched by activist non-governmental organizations.

Mr. Monlezun came to Fleishman-Hillard in 2007 with more than 20 years of experience in government, communications, and corporate strategy, including 11 as a government relations and public affairs consultant. He has developed and implemented strategies for public and private sector clients on transportation policy, forestry, energy, financial services, municipal issues, the environment, infrastructure, telecommunications, brewing, and the privatization of government services.

Before becoming a consultant, Mr. Monlezun worked for the Canadian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, where he was responsible for policy, industry restructuring, environmental protection, and participated in Canada’s ‘turbot war’ with the European Union. He also was a senior policy advisor with the Canadian federal government's Royal Commission on National Passenger Transportation and the Transportation Safety Board Review Commission.

Mr. Monlezun is a native of Dawson Creek, British Columbia. He graduated from Carleton University in Ottawa, where he earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in political science (1986) and Canadian history (1987).

Richard Mullinax
Senior Vice President, Senior Partner & General Manager
Global Energy Practice Group Co-Chair
Fleishman-Hillard Dallas

Richard Mullinax joined Fleishman-Hillard as general manager of the Houston office in 1999, bringing with him experience in all facets of communications management. In 2002, he became general manager of the Dallas office. During his career, he has held overall account responsibility for clients in a wide range of industries including accounting and management consulting, oil and gas exploration and production, oilfield services, petrochemical and refining, electricity generation/distribution/ marketing, information technology, automotive, manufacturing, mining, and defense. Currently, Mr. Mullinax serves energy industry clients such as Dresser, Inc., Ernst & Young’s World Energy Center, and FPL Energy. Mr. Mullinax also has planned and conducted crisis, environmental, and public affairs programs for several companies in the petrochemical and energy industries including ARCO Chemical, AtoFina, ConocoPhillips, Enron Corp., Intergen North America, Schlumberger, Shell Oil, Helena Chemical, Cookson PLC, Tesoro Petroleum, and East Harris County Manufacturers Association.

John Ambler
Senior Vice President & Partner
Global Energy Practice Group Co-Chair
Fleishman-Hillard Houston

John Ambler has been instrumental in managing high profile corporate communication challenges, including major corporate conduct issues, litigation, bankruptcies, environmental incidents, legislative initiatives, activist campaigns, and government disputes. He came to Fleishman-Hillard in 2006 from GE Energy, where he led global communications and public affairs efforts. Before that he was vice president of public and government affairs for CrossCountry Energy. This was an extension of his work as vice president of communications and public affairs for Enron Corp, both before and after the bankruptcy. Mr. Ambler also held a number of management positions in international public relations, government relations, and public affairs at Texaco Inc. In his energy sector work, he has chaired American Petroleum Institute federal relations subcommittees, participated in its general committee on communications, and served on the American Mining Association and Interstate Natural Gas Association of America government relations committees.

Bryan Thomas
Senior Vice President
Fleishman-Hillard Calgary

Bryan Thomas brings more than 25 years experience in marketing, advertising, and strategic communications to his role as senior vice president at Fleishman-Hillard Calgary. Mr. Thomas’ clients include the international oil giant Total, Super Channel, Barrett Xplore, Cortex Business Solutions and Axia Netmedia.

In 2007 Mr. Thomas was a winner of the John D. Graham Award for Excellence, Fleishman-Hillard’s most prestigious honor.

Since joining Fleishman-Hillard, Mr. Thomas has led the team conducting extensive market research and stakeholder relations for Total, one of the world’s largest international oil and gas companies, interviewing stakeholders from across the country in a variety of sectors and at the highest levels of all three branches of government. Findings were used by Mr. Thomas and the team to build an integrated communications plan to establish and build a brand for Total in Canada.

Working on behalf of both Total SA and Total E&P Canada, Mr. Thomas is leading the team building the Total brand in Canada and has gained significant expertise in stakeholder communications for upstream mining and SAGD operations and in regulatory affairs for the Total upgrader project.

The former president of Thomas Crncich & Partners of London, Ontario, Mr. Thomas gained a national reputation in the field of consumer, political, government, and public affairs communications.

Mr. Thomas’ community service includes tenure as the chair of the Board of the London (Ontario) Chamber of Commerce and director of the London Health Sciences Centre. He has also served as President of the Canadian Association of Professional Advertising Agencies and as a Director of the Information and Communications Technologies Council of Alberta.

Sara E. Neamtz
Vice President
Fleishman-Hillard Ottawa

Sara Neamtz is a Vice President with Fleishman-Hillard Canada in Ottawa. With a background in law and seven years of experience in government relations and public affairs, Ms. Neamtz has a strong track record of success in assisting clients with complex political, policy and regulatory issues. Although she advises clients in a number of sectors, her focus has been on natural resources including mining, pipelines, oil & gas, and electricity.

Ms. Neamtz has particular expertise in assisting clients with federal regulatory processes, providing advice on federal licensing and approvals including environmental assessments. She has been a strategic advisor on many major resource developments, working closely on behalf of clients with political and policy advisors in government, aboriginal leaders, and the environmental community. Her clients have included Kinder Morgan Canada, ConocoPhillips, Vale Inco, Diavik Diamond Mines and ENMAX.

Before joining Fleishman-Hillard, Ms. Neamtz practiced law in Toronto with a leading national law firm in the litigation department and focused on commercial litigation, dispute resolution, administrative law, employment law, environmental law, and insurance claims.

Ms. Neamtz holds a B.A in history and politics from Brock University and an LL.B from the University of Western Ontario. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1997 and is a member of the National Association of Women and the Law, Equal Voice and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.