I asked John how he sees his business “independent power business”; I asked ‘how’s business looking, going forward over the next quarter?’
… Q1 was very sobering. Tough in Alberta – lowest prices since deregulation. Lots of supply, decreased demand and a warm winter. Temperature driven peak markets are good for us. Policy issues … market design, climate change …
And over the next five years?
… quite good. I’m very optimistic about Alberta’s future for our business. Supply-side constrained, refurbishing old facilities away from coal will have a large public cost. LNG will happen. Coal viability is a function of natural gas price. Uncertainty about tax on CO2. Our target is to grow to $500 million - $1 billion in enterprise value (right now we are about $200 million) which I see us achieving. The first fifteen years of growth took longer than expected, but we have achieved scale and efficiency. Our goal has been to build, sell and make money for our shareholders.
What qualities distinguish your preferred colleagues, collaborators and suppliers?
… trust and loyalty. People I like who have value and respect.
What distinguishes you that causes people to choose John Bobenic, and why do they do business with you, why have they hired you, over your competitors?
... we respect our counterparties. Honest and direct in our dealings. We adhere to the letter and intent of our agreements.
How would you describe your management style?
… tough but fair. We’re an entrepreneurial (eight shareholders hold 80% of our stock) shop. People need to have a life after work. We know how to celebrate our wins!
What do you lose sleep over, what do you worry about?
… big government. Lack of opportunities for my kids. Lightly progressive government is too big and inefficient …
Who or what influenced you most – that has made a difference in your life, or that was a major turning point?
… we lived in Chile for four years in my TransAlta days. Met lots of world-class decision makers, learned the language – loved Santiago. Our youngest was born there. We really enjoyed being part of the ex-pat community.
Work-life balance – do you have it?
… I’ve had to find it. I’m not the man I want to be. I’ve had a problem for thirty years – I’m now close to being happy with my priorities. [John, tearing up, discussed off the record the tragic loss of his son, at 21, which has been an horrific grief for him and his family – and lessons learned]
For fun?
… hiking. Skiing – snow and water. We have a lake cabin in Washington state.
His ride(s)?
… daily, a Jeep TJ. And a 2015 Corvette. And a 2009 Ducati 1098 motorcycle.
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