KleverKestrel

James S. Kinnear (December 31, 1947) is a Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist. Kinnear was born in Toronto, Ontario and grew up in Montreal and Toronto.

Career

Kinnear graduated from the University of Toronto in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science degree and worked in the securities business in Toronto and Montreal until 1980. In 1979 he was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst(CFA) designation. He subsequently moved to Calgary,Alberta where he established Kinnear Financial Consulting and then Pengrowth Management Limited in 1982.

Pengrowth Management Limited, a private company,initially invested in oil and gas properties on behalf of pension fund clients. In December of 1988, Pengrowth Management Limited launched Pengrowth Gas Income Fund (the name was later changed to Pengrowth Energy Trust) with an initial public offering of $12.5million. Kinnear is recognized as a pioneer in the Canadian energy trust sector,and under his leadership Pengrowth Energy Trust grew into a $4 billion business.

Pengrowth Energy Trust acquired several oil and gas producing properties between 1989 and 2009 under the direction of James Kinnear and his company, Pengrowth Management Limited. Some of the more notable acquisitions include: Judy Creek – acquired from Imperial Oil in 1997 for C$476 million; an interest in the Sable Offshore Energy Project – acquired in 2001 for C$265 million; the C$550 million acquisition of Murphy Canada assets in 2004; the Carson Creek purchase in 2006 – acquired from Imperial Oil for C$475million; and a C$1 billion acquisition of ConocoPhillips assets in 2007. Additionally, Pengrowth Energy Trust combined with Esprit Energy Trust in 2006. At the time, Esprit Energy Trust’s market capitalization was over C$1.0 billion.

Upon his retirement from Pengrowth Energy Trust in 2009, Kinnear, along with other investors, established Caledonian Royalty Corporation, a private Canadian Corporation that purchases royalty interests in oil and gas companies. Caledonian Royalty Corporation currently holds royalty interests (royalties) in the oil and gas production of three Canadian energy companies.

Community Activity

Kinnear is active in the community, and is known for supporting various organizations that promote leadership, sports, culture, health and education. He has donated, and encouraged others to give, tens of millions of dollars to nonprofit and charitable initiatives.

From 1992 to 2011, he has chaired an annual golf tournament that has raised over C$9 million for the Calgary Health Trust. In January 2010, proceeds from this tournament were used to purchase a C$3.3 surgical robot for the Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary. In honour and recognition of Kinnear’s long standing support of health care in Calgary, the

emergency centre at the Rockyview Hospital was named after him.

In 2000, Kinnear’s private company, Pengrowth Management Limited, sponsored the National Hockey League (NHL) arena in Calgary known as the Saddledome and it was thus renamed the Pengrowth Saddledome. This move helped to keep the Calgary Flames, the local NHL hockey team from leaving the city at a particularly difficult time for the franchise. Kinnear stepped up when others would not. The naming rights agreement with the Calgary Flames and the Saddledome expired in 2010.

Through Pengrowth Management Limited, Kinnear also established the Pengrowth-Nova Scotia Energy Scholarship in 2005 in partnership with the government of Nova Scotia. The aim of this scholarship program is to enhance petroleum industry skills for the students in Nova Scotia’s post secondary institutions. During the same year, Kinnear also became a founding partner of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for Business.

In 2007 Kinnear lead an effort to assist the Royal Canadian Golf Association(RCGA) in the search for a title sponsor for the Canadian Open.

"He gathered several executives and business leaders for roundtable discussions at both the 2007 Canadian Open at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont. as well as the President’s Cup in Montreal. His passion and dedicated efforts in 2007 proved to be a major catalyst in RBC ultimately signing on as title sponsor of RBC Canadian Open".

As a result, he was awarded with the RCGA Distinguished Service Award.

Kinnear has also donated C$5 million dollars and engaged his friends and business associates to commit a further C$5 million to the Banff Centre’s Kinnear Centre for Creativity and Innovation.

Selected Honours

• Ernst & Young Prairies, Entrepreneur of the Year (2001)
• Alberta Centennial Medal (2005)
• Consumers’ Choice, Businessman of the Year (2006)
• The Fraser Milner Casgrain Pinnacle Award (2007)
• Business Person of the Year - Alberta Venture Magazine (2007)
• RCGA Distinguished Service Award (2008)
• Fifty Most Influential People in Alberta – Alberta Venture Magazine (2008)
• Honorary Doctor of Commerce, Saint Mary's University (Halifax) (2009)
• Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012)

Boards and Committees

• Pengrowth Energy Trust, Chairman (1988 -2009)
• Rockyview Invitational Golf Tournament, Past Chairman
• Kinnear Invitational Golf Tournament, Chairman
• National Arts Centre, Director
• Rockyview General Hospital Development Council
• Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Past Governor
• Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Past Member of the Board of Directors