Jason Benoit Email and Phone Number

Responsible for the implementation of key strategic initiatives in the Planning and Development, and Building Standards Departments.  Leading the modernization of the City’s construction drawing review process from paper-based to an electronic collaborative plan review system. Implementing electronic submission, review and markup of construction drawings will cut the City’s time to process Building and Development permits by over 50%, saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, increasing customer satisfaction and advancing the City’s design review capabilities to align with the best in class construction and development companies. Leading the redesign of multiple Planning and Development and Community Services business processes. Through effective change management practices, I am leading the reengineering of current business processes for Residential & Commercial Permitting and Inspections, Land Planning & Development, Bylaw & Code Enforcement and Business Licensing workflows to align with a new Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) tool to adopt industry best practices and improve the City of Saskatoon’s service delivery model. Preparing reports to Mayor and Council as part of the Planning and Development working group, informing council on the progress and status of major projects, and key issues involving more than 3,600 building and development permits representing over $650 million in construction value over the course of 2019 alone.

Bringing over 20 years of fleet management and technical leadership to Acela Truck Company (ATC), I’m helping to build one of the most innovative Truck companies to enter the commercial market in the past 50 years. Acela Truck Company produces extreme-duty on/off-highway trucks. Executive leadership, helping define the direction of company including target markets, financial forecasting and business plan development. Developing long term strategy of primary and secondary markets. Leading the go-to market strategy for launch of Acela Truck Company’s first cab and chassis line, the Monterra 4x4 and 6x6, extreme-duty on/off-highway truck. Establishing a state-of-art manufacturing facility, including lean manufacturing processes, supply chain, logistics, and company wide safety protocol. Developing and deploying sales strategy and teams, CRM development, and targeting new business opportunities within the mining and oil & gas industry. Working in conjunction with Marketing, Engineering and Product Development to create and maintain new markets and new sales opportunities.

Member of the Executive Team and Board of Directors for a high-growth, small-cap company who has recently expanded nation-wide. Reporting to the President and CEO, developed a 3-year business plan and detailed financial projections to execute our strategic initiatives and maximize profitability and cash flow. Led the strategic level planning and execution of a successful expansion into the provinces of Alberta (2014) and Quebec (2015). Managed all regulatory, licensing and property acquisition requirements as well as the budgeting, cost controls and cash flow analysis of our strategic projects. The expansion resulted in a 40% increase in year over year sales growth from 2013 to 2014, and an additional 69% increase in year over year sales growth from 2014 to 2015. Designed and implemented a corporate-wide Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system using Microsoft Dynamics GP to ensure our “back-end” financial systems could keep up with our high-growth sales systems. Prepared regular budgets, vendor spend analysis, cash flow forecasting and profit & loss level reporting. Developed the corporate transition plan from a family owned business to an employee owned corporation with additional corporate investment, private placements, share purchase & stock option plans.

Lead a team of 15 supply chain professionals in the procurement, warehousing and distribution of $150 million annually in goods and services for a large Alberta-based oil & gas services company. Championed the initiative to consolidate the supply chain functions of 9 separate operating divisions into a centralized procurement team to drive efficiency and capitalize on our procurement economies of scale. Negotiated corporate level supply chain contracts with major vendors which saved the company over $2 mil annually on a $50 mil consolidated spend. Effectively implemented the Microsoft Dynamics AX supply chain modules to overhaul and automate procurement, warehousing and distribution using a world-class ERP tool. Championed the development of CEDA’s first Project Management Office to consolidate project professionals, streamline project management and adopt world-class practices and procedures. Lead a formal company-wide “Needs-assessment” in conjunction with an external project firm to document the company’s current state of project performance and develop a roadmap to increase our corporate maturity. Performed a Project Portfolio Management role for numerous concurrent projects. Successfully integrated of 2 new oil & gas service companies who were acquired in the Fort McMurray and Bonneville areas. Lead a contract management team of 3 contract professionals to develop and maintain all vendor and customer contracts with whom CEDA conducted business. Worked closely with our in-house legal team to identify risks, opportunities and provide contracting services in a effective and expedient manner.

Incorporated a mine service company focused on delivering a new severe-duty commercial truck to the Alberta Oilsands market. • As co-owner and General Manager of PLS Mine Services Ltd, lead a team of 8 highly-skilled individuals in all aspects of legal, finance, engineering, sales, marketing and logistics for a start-up organization capable of integrating business between a $35 billion defense contractor, and three of the largest oil & gas companies in North America.• Developed a strategic partnership with BAE Systems LLP to commercialize, re-brand, distribute, and support their line of “military” trucks to the Alberta oilsands market. After numerous high level presentations to executive staff detailing the market potential and all aspects of our business, marketing and logistics support plans we implemented a 5 truck trial program in the Oil Sands.• Secured the buy-in of Suncor Energy, Syncrude Canada & Royal Dutch Shell to fund an intensive 6 month in-service trial to evaluate all aspects of design and reliability of our new trucks. Within 9 months, secured orders for over 20 new trucks from these three customers alone. Within 12 months, accepted a partnership offer with a large Edmonton-based truck dealership to incorporate Bronto Trucks Canada Ltd, where I will remain a shareholder and member of the Board of Directors.

Progressed from Senior Reliability Engineer (2007) to Turnaround Infrastructure & Logistics Manager (2009) to Manager, Growth Integration and Turnarounds (2010)• Acted as owner’s representative for all capital projects delivering infrastructure to Suncor in Fort McMurray. Accountable for the integration, acceptance and compliance of tens of millions of dollars in building and facility assets annually. Chaired monthly steering committee meetings with maintenance, operations, engineering, project management, construction & finance to ensure compliance to scope, cost and schedule for a portfolio of 14 projects in various stages of the Suncor SPIM cycle. Delivered infrastructure and facilities support to a $600 million upgrader shutdown for May to Oct, 2010, including scoping, planning, construction, commission, and delivery over $35 million in temporary office, lunch & washroom facilities for a peak manpower load of over 1200 people.• As Senior Reliability Engineer and acting Manager of Infrastructure Reliability for Sitewide Services, led 3 engineers in the development of preventative maintenance plans, condition assessments and asset data registers for over 600 buildings on Suncor’s OilSands site. Developed SAP maintenance and financial reports to identify bad actors lists and reliability improvement cost savings initiatives which saved over $2 mil in OPEX in the first year. • Four years of Suncor OPEX/CAPEX budget and expenditure experience, with a detailed focus on asset lifecycle forecasting, capital replacements, operations & maintenance cost projection, and SAP reporting. Senior Engineer in Suncor Fleet Department for over 1,800 light vehicles and various pieces of support equipment. Resolved equipment reliability problems, optimized maintenance strategies and plans, developed priority list for capital spending, mentored junior engineers, monitored and ensured compliance with environmental health and safety policies.

-Progressed from Asst General Mgr (2004) to General Manager (2005).-Finished 1st in the Advanced Branch Manager Development Course (2005).• General Manager with complete profit & loss control of a $3 million business unit, for the fifth largest and fastest growing distributor of industrial and construction supplies in North America. Maintained +15% growth rates on year-over-year revenue and profit, developed and mentored inside/outside sales teams to service new & existing customers and maintained our inventory at optimal level to maximize profitability.• Personally maintained and developed key accounts, such as large construction and manufacturing companies, developed and implemented purchasing/supply contracts, created cost savings for customers by streamlining their materials managements systems through point of use deliveries, inventory reductions programs, strategic sourcing of high usage and high value supplies and just-in-time deliveries which are integrated into customers demanding production schedules. Detailed preparation of monthly and quarterly financial statements, thorough management of operational, labor and capital costs, development of merchandising and sales campaigns, collections of all accounts receivable, leadership of store personnel, cash-management of retail sales, and the daily sourcing, procurement, and delivery of industrial and construction supplies required by hundreds of customers.

-Progressed from Officer Cadet (1993-1997) to Second Lieutenant (1997-1998) to Lieutenant (1998-2000) to Captain (2000-2003). Operational tours include:- Engineering Maintenance Officer, Kandahar, Afghanistan (7 months) 2002- Infrastructure & Logistics Operations Officer, Bosnia/Herzegovina (7 months) 2000• Directed 30-50 field technicians in the inspection, maintenance and repair of 200-300 vehicles and thousands of pieces of equipment (ranging from weapons and high-tech optical systems, to generators and air conditioners), in support of Canadian Armed Forces training and operations. Managed all engineering aspects of support and production, including major repairs, recovery, rebuilds, inspections, equipment modifications, preventative maintenance and life cycle extension programs. Monitored and coordinated utilization of available manpower, tools, facilities and budgets to achieve the best possible service. Solved budget, production and logistics problems on a daily basis. • During my five years as a Platoon Commander, continually provided strong leadership, professional training, and mentoring to 30-50 technical-oriented soldiers in day-to-day peacetime activities, and in highly stressful wartime operations. Continually acted as the link between senior decision-makers and junior technicians to resolve problems, implement policy and direction, and achieve maximum results and efficiency for the organization while maintaining the safety and well being of my employees.