Our Team
Jeffrey Hansen-Carlson
President and CEO
Jeffrey has been leading Prairie Sky Gondola since its inception. Jeffrey has spent his career in infrastructure capital and development industry in Western Canada. He has a track record of starting city building organizations. As a director at EllisDon Capital brings finance, real estate, and project development expertise to the project. Why did he take the lead? “I had to. This came out of nowhere. It’s special. Not often can private enterprise unlock such a profound public benefit."
Andrea Wheaton
CFO
Andrea became Prairie Sky Gondola's CFO in June 2022 after being on its board. She is Director of Wheaton Properties, a family-held real estate investor, developer and property manager in Western Canada. Andrea believes that the natural and built environment impact people’s mental, physical and social health and that by enhancing the urban experience, we can encourage a lifestyle that promotes people’s wellbeing and creates value for the community. Andrea currently serves as a Committee Member for the Stollery Tee Up For Tots Golf Tournament and had the pleasure of acting as the tournament Chair from 2019-2021. Andrea has also served as a Cabinet Member for the Melcor YMCA Village Capital Campaign. Andrea’s past experience includes real estate development and investment sales, investment banking and marketing. Andrea holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Alberta (2014) where she was the recipient of the AIMCo MBA Award for her academic merit. Andrea also holds a Diploma in Urban Land Economics from the University of British Columbia (2012) and a Bachelor of Commerce in Real Estate from the University of British Columbia (2010).
Claire MacDonald
Manager of Project Development
Claire joined Prairie Sky Gondola in the Fall of 2020 as its Chair of the Public & Indigenous Engagement Committee, and has been Prairie Sky's Manager of Project Development since August 2021. She honed her skills by making a career in a wide range of industries, including provincial politics for the past 6 years. She has a Masters of Arts in Western American Political History from Paris 7 University and a Masters in Archival Science from the University of British Columbia. She was born and raised in Paris, France, where public transportation options, planning for growth and urban culture are an essential part of everyday life. She stayed in Edmonton because of its trailblazing and "Can Do" attitude, where City building is possible and encouraged. As an Old Strathcona resident working downtown Edmonton, she is looking forward to using an urban gondola for her daily commutes.
Bob Black
Legal Counsel
Bob is a lawyer and Queen’s Council. Bob has a diverse background in law including a distinguished career as a litigator where he litigated in all levels of court in Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Bob spent 10 years as a senior executive for the Katz Group and Oilers Entertainment Group during which he was a member of the Negotiating Committee for the public / private partnership with the City of Edmonton for the Construction of Rogers Place Arena. Bob oversaw all aspects of the design and construction of the $613 million arena and played a leadership role in the development of the $2.1 billion ICE District. For the last two years Bob has been deeply involved in city building initiatives including the Prairie Sky Gondola project and two cultural village projects and in nation building initiatives with Indigenous peoples. Bob has a background in media and government relations, strategic communications and experiential tourism design and operations. Bob is inspired by big ideas and the opportunity to lead in paradigm changing developments.
Naseem Bashir
Board Chair
Naseem is President and CEO of Williams Engineering Canada, a prominent western and northern Canadian professional engineering services company. On behalf of the parent company, he also provides oversight of Umbra Engineering Ltd. and DB Technologies LP, which are sister companies to Williams Engineering within the Williams Group portfolio. Naseem believes that companies should be built around a core social purpose and that their business models should empower their purpose through a social, behavioural, and technological innovation stack, enabling organizations to balance their financial and social impact goals and objectives. Technological disruption occupies a key place in his view of strategy. Challenging the norm while committing to and investing in a digital transformation journey enables businesses to discover endless possibilities. Applying any successes, failures, and lessons learned during that same journey contributes to a more positive outcome and experience for team members, customers, and the cities and communities we are all a part of. Naseem received the Queen Elizabeth II, Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and has a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta (1992).
Georg Josi P.Eng. Ph.D. ENV SP
Engineering Consultant
Georg is a structural engineer and a Partner at Dialog Design in their Edmonton studio. He has worked on numerous urban infrastructure projects, such as the River Valley Mechanized Access, the Walterdale Bridge and the Valley Line LRT. His approach to achieving success is equal parts expertise, enthusiasm, diligence, sincerity, and inspiration. When asked why he assumed the role as VP of Technical Project Development at Prairie Sky he did not hesitate to share, “I could not turn down this opportunity to meaningfully improve access to our river valley with sustainable transportation technology, while linking Edmonton’s two major hubs – Downtown and Whyte.