AOE Council

Her Honour, the Honourable Salma Lakhani, AOE Chancellor

The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta serves as the Chancellor of the Alberta Order of Excellence.

Salma Lakhani was installed as Alberta’s 19th Lieutenant Governor on August 26, 2020. Her longstanding service as a community leader and volunteer has been guided by her deep commitment to the values of pluralism and inclusion and her dedication to championing those who face barriers in life.

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Gary Mar, AOE Council Chair

Gary Mar was named President and CEO of the Canada West Foundation (CWF) in April 2020. An accomplished and respected leader, Gary brings deep experience in government and business, and established expertise in CWF’s key policy areas in natural resources, trade and investment and human capital.

Gary has broad experience in government having served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Province of Alberta from 1993 to 2007. During his time as an elected official, Gary held several Cabinet portfolios – Community Development, Health and Wellness, Education, Environment, and International and Intergovernmental Relations.

From 2007 to 2011, he served as the Official Representative (Minister-Counselor) of the Province of Alberta at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., where he worked extensively with the Alberta energy sector on advocacy issues in Washington, D.C., and many U.S. states. In 2011, he was appointed the Province of Alberta’s Representative in Asia and led the province’s strategic outreach efforts from his post in Hong Kong, frequently working with Alberta’s offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei.

Prior to joining the CWF, Gary served as President and CEO of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC), the national trade association representing the service, supply and manufacturing sectors within the upstream petroleum industry. He was also an independent consultant working for both Chinese and Canadian companies seeking assistance with trans-Pacific trade and investment.

Gary was appointed chancellor of MacEwan University in 2025. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta School of Business in Marketing, Business Economics and Law and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne Business School. He has been awarded the Order of St. John, the Alberta Centennial Medal, the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta), and the King Charles III Coronation Medal.

Gary completed a Law degree at the University of Alberta and has practiced criminal, civil, corporate, commercial and real estate law. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel (now KC) in 1994 and honorary member of Executive Council of Alberta (ECA) in 2022.

Jim Boucher, AOE Council Member

Jim Boucher, of Fort McKay, is a visionary leader and businessman who led Fort McKay First Nation to become one of the most successful and enterprising Indigenous communities in the world. Jim believes practice and preservation of one’s traditional way of life can occur simultaneously alongside continuous and long-term sustainable oil sands development. Jim has effectively built relationships with the oil and gas industry and all levels of government. This has built Fort McKay’s social and economic strength, facilitated proper consultation, and advanced the rights of his community and its people.

Jim was born in Fort McKay, Alberta, a community of around 850 Dene, Cree and Métis on the bank of the Athabasca River. He is a direct descendant of Headman Adam Boucher, who signed Treaty 8 on August 4, 1899. Raised by his grandparents, Jim’s first languages were Cree and Dene. The family lived off the land with Jim helping on the trap line as a young boy. At 13, Jim and his younger siblings were placed in Blue Quills Indian Residential School in St. Paul, his three older sisters having already been sent several years before.

In 1986, Jim was elected as Chief of Fort McKay First Nation after serving on the Council executive. He served as Chief for over 30 years. As Chief, he began helping the community navigate the decline of the fur trade in the early ‘80s and the growth of the oil sands industry, facilitating proper consultation and advancing the rights of his community and the peoples.

In 1986, he established the Fort McKay Group of Companies and numerous First Nation joint ventures. Jim focused on three goals: creating employment, building educational opportunities and turning a profit to provide a higher standard of living for the community. Under his leadership, FMFN grew into a successful, healthy community with next to zero unemployment, a per capita average household income higher than the Alberta and national average, a multi-million legacy trust fund and control of companies that have generated billions in revenue, making FMFN a net contributor to Alberta and Canada’s economies.

In 2020, Jim established the Saa Dene Group of Companies. As President and Co-Founder, Jim supports the global professional services firm and works with a variety of partners to pursue opportunities in education, health, technology and innovation, and service sectors. Some of those ventures include Maple Maskawâhtik (expanding access to virtual care nationwide); Sagekeeper (developing educational resources to help Canadians learn more about their history with Indigenous Peoples); and Acceleware|Kisâstwêw (improving the environmental and economic performance of the oil sands sector by ensuring that the technology supports ideals important to Indigenous Peoples, including respect for land, water and clean air).

Jim currently serves as an advisor and director on the boards of several private and public companies, non-partisan and purpose driven organizations. Jim became a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2020, received the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta) and King Charles lll Coronation Medal, and was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 2023.

Arno Doerksen

Biography coming soon.

Brian Hodgson, AOE Council Member

Brian Hodgson, of Edmonton, was an Intelligence Officer with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). He saw duty in the Service’s Counter Espionage, Counter Terrorism and Security Screening Branches. He left CSIS in 1992 to become the Sergeant-at-Arms with the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, a position he held until 2019. He also served as the Assembly’s Director of Visitor, Ceremonial and Security Services and as the first president of the Canadian Association of Sergeants-at-Arms.

Brian has a lifetime of Reserve Army service. In 1979, he joined the South Alberta Light Horse (Royal Canadian Armoured Corps). Lt.-Col. Hodgson commanded his regiment, which is stationed at Edmonton, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge, from 1996 to 2000. In 2004, he volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan. He continues to serve on the South Alberta Light Horse Regiment Foundation Board.

He is a graduate of the University of Alberta, Sir William Stephenson Academy, Canadian Forces Reserve Command and Staff College in Kingston, and of the Joint Reserve Command and Staff College in Toronto.

Brian has provided extensive and dedicated service to a wide range of community, national and provincial organizations that have long benefitted Canadians in uniform and veterans. He has also served as a member of a broad array of boards that serve policing, post-secondary, faith-based, health and international development organizations. His contributions to many Edmonton organizations include his leadership with the Robert Burns Club, Sir Winston Churchill Society and Salvation Army Edmonton Advisory Board.

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) elected Brian as a Fellow in 2008 and as a Governor in 2009. In 2020, RCGS awarded him the Joseph Bernier Medal. Brian also has received the Canada 125 Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta), the King Charles III Coronation Medal, the Canadian Forces Decoration with two bars, and the Alberta Centennial Medal.

Brian has a skeleton sled competitor’s license, as well as being a keen rider in many aspects of equestrian sport and activity.

Manjit Minhas, AOE Council Member

Manjit Minhas is known across Canada as a star of Dragons’ Den, the hit CBC series she joined 11 seasons ago, after establishing herself as the formidable entrepreneur behind Minhas Breweries & Distilleries.

Manjit started her companies as a 19-year-old petroleum engineering student by selling her Toyota RAV4 to enter the alcohol industry with the $10,000 return, along with her brother, Ravinder. Despite competition from the multinational corporations controlling the beer industry, Minhas managed to establish itself in the marketplace by offering higher quality products at a better value than the competition. In 2006, the siblings became the youngest brewery owners in the world when they purchased the second-oldest brewery in Wisconsin and renamed it the Minhas Craft Brewery. Today, Manjit has over 90 brands of beers, spirits, liqueurs and wines. Her products are sold in 5 provinces, 47 American states and 16 other countries. She’s also created unique and successful distilled spirit products in numerous categories form vodka to whisky to Irish cream.

Manjit is passionate about giving back to her community and provides her time, energy and money to numerous charities presently and in the past and has served on the boards of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, Hull Services Calgary, YWCA and the United Way of Calgary and Area. Manjit also sits on the boards of Enbridge, YYC Airport Authority, and ATB Financial.

In 2023, Manjit was honoured to have been appointed by the Department of National Defense as the Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the Canadian Armed Forces’ Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. Manjit made history in 2024 becoming the first woman owner of a Canadian Elite Basketball League team when she and Ravinder invested in the Edmonton Stingers.

Manjit has been honoured for her work by the United Nations Association in Canada with the Global Citizen Laureate Award; Canada’s Top 40 Under 40; Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs; Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies; Marketing Award of Distinction, Young Achiever of the Year; Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100; Influential Women in Business Award; Global Empowerment in Business Enterprise Power Award; Global Woman of Vision; Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40; Famous 5 Foundation Leader Award; Chatelaine Woman of the Year; Sikh Centennial Foundation Award; Canadian Business Icon Award, the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta) and the King Charles III Coronation Medal.

When not on the set of Dragons' Den, calling on international buyers and suppliers or scouting new trends and industry innovations, Manjit Minhas continues to live in Calgary with her husband and 2 daughters.