Introducing Challenger’s New Calgary Vice President, Mike Fretwell
Mike Fretwell is rejoining the Challenger team as the new Vice President, Operations in Calgary. Mike is an ALS and CLS with over 20 years of leadership experience.
Earlier in his career, Mike spent 10 years at Challenger Geomatics as a Project Manager leading numerous projects. However, his passion was to start his own business, and he left Challenger in 2005 to found his own geomatics consulting firm. During this time, he built a high-performing team focused on managing complex survey and geospatial projects in the energy, transportation, and municipal sectors.
Most recently, Mike was with the Surveyor General Branch of Natural Resources Canada where he was responsible for various policy and operations work as Assistant Director – West. In this role, he collaborated with colleagues across Canada to implement new systems and policies for the various types of data and survey records being managed by Natural Resources Canada, and also the tools that surveyors use for accessing this data. Mike worked to improve operational effectiveness for the Alberta Regional Office, with a view to enhancing long-term value in alignment with government policy.
In addition to his survey expertise, Mike brings a strong business background to our Calgary team. Along with leading strategic initiatives and improving business operations at his previous company, Mike has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to connect with clients and to foster collaboration. “I do my best to really listen and engage with people prior to making any big decisions. Striving to understand their real needs and goals before offering recommendations or solutions focused on value”
Throughout his career, he has been committed to continuous learning, even going on to get his MBA from Queens University in 2014. As a way of giving back to the survey profession, he has contributed to professional development programs through the Alberta Land Surveyors Association (ALSA) and through the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (ACLS). This included contributions to several new training initiatives including GeoEd Canada.
His extensive experience as an Alberta Land Surveyor and willingness to give back culminated in a term as ALSA President in 2017 – 2018.
As a proven leader and strong communicator, Mike will build on the strong corporate culture at Challenger and implement new strategic initiatives that will drive value for our clients.
