Our Team

The BGES team is dedicated to providing best-in-class service; we are professionals serving professionals.

BGES’ Executive Team members possess a unique blend of extensive technical, operations and business experience in the oil & gas and mining industries.

Dickson Lee, P.Eng, M.Eng., MBA

CEO & CTO

Mr. Lee is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technical Officer of BGES. He offers a unique blend of business acumen, technical expertise, innovation and dynamism that continues to assist in facilitating the success of BGES. He has accumulated over 20 years of broad-based experience in consulting, engineering, product development, project management, entrepreneurial business startups and corporate management in upstream oil & gas. Mr. Lee joined BGES in 2004 to lead the technical team, and later assumed additional responsibilities of advancing business growth through the creation of integrated solutions, which eventually led to the appointments of CTO in 2010 and CEO in 2013. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Canada and a Chartered Professional Engineer in Australia. His academic credentials include a Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering, a Master’s degree in Business Administration, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical/Manufacturing Engineering.

Duncan McPhedran, CMA

Founder, President & CFO

Mr. McPhedran, founder of the company, has been serving as the Chief Financial Officer since its inception in 1996. In 2013, he became President & CFO of BGES. Mr. McPhedran’s insightful leadership combined with his strong financial expertise has paved the way for an 18-year track record of spectacular profit growth at BGES. Recognizing that a solid financial foundation is essential for a growing business, he has dedicated his career to the development of strategic financial and management solutions to enhance the company’s financial position. Mr. McPhedran completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary and has been working as a high-caliber Certified Management Accountant (CMA) since 1986. Prior to founding Big Guns, he had held leadership positions at renowned corporations such as the TD Bank and NOVA Corporation and other senior positions in Alberta’s energy and chemical industries.

Alex Naumescu

Vice President of Operations

Mr. Naumescu is the VP of Operations and has been working with BGES since 2011. During his tenure with BGES, his strong skills and deep knowledge in tool development and product line management have proven to be an asset for the executive team. His diverse skillset includes open-hole logging, cased-hole logging, perforating, tool development, product line launches, business development and sales. Before joining the company, Mr. Naumescu has acquired valuable technical and management experience through his previous employment at renowned companies such as ATLAS Geophysical Investigation Petroleum in Romania and Baker Hughes in Canada. He also possesses international experience in countries such as the U.S. and Romania. Mr. Naumescu has a Bachelor’s of Science degree with additional studies from the Petroleum – Gas University of Ploiesti in Romania.

Blair Kostiuk

Vice President of Projects

Mr. Kostiuk was appointed as VP of Projects in 2021.  Being a specialist in operations management, he has a proven track record of applying best practices, cutting-edge technology and multidisciplinary work teams to streamline operations, minimize costs and increase productivity.  In his previous roles with BGES, he had served as project manager and operations specialist in various capacities, accumulating over 24 years of broad-based hands-on experience as well as in-depth knowledge of products and services.  Through the supplementary role as a market development strategist, he has significantly contributed to BGES’ success by constantly seeking new markets and growth opportunities, and developing strategies to strengthen the company’s competitive position.  Mr. Kostiuk is well-known to be a people person, relationship builder, collaborator and connector.  He is dedicated to cultivating customer relationships, being attentive to customer needs, and helping customers achieve or even exceed their goals.

 

Vivian Yuen-Lee, P.Eng., M.Eng., M.Sc., MBA

Director of Clean / Sustainable Energy Strategies

Ms. Yuen-Lee was appointed Director of Clean / Sustainable Energy Strategies at BGES in 2024, following her service as a technical advisor since 2010. She brings over 23 years of technical and business experience in the energy industry, encompassing upstream exploration to downstream operations. Prior to her role at BGES, Ms. Yuen-Lee held pivotal positions at Imperial Oil Ltd., including Project Manager and Control Centre Operations Engineer, and served as an engineering specialist at Fluor Canada for various major petrochemical projects. As a technical advisor at BGES, she specialized in analyzing various types of reservoir and caprock in-situ testing and pioneered engineering test interpretation and consulting services. In her current role, Ms. Yuen-Lee leverages her extensive technical and business background to lead initiatives that advance sustainable solutions and capitalize on emerging opportunities in the evolving energy landscape, with a keen focus on expanding the company’s market presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Ming Liu, P.Eng., M.Sc.

Lab Manager, Director of Geotechnical Engineering and Innovation

Mr. Liu joined BGES in 2014 and is the Manager of BGES’ Geotechnical lab and Director of Geotechnical Engineering and Innovation. With over 14 years of experience serving the energy industry, he has become an expert in geotechnical and geomechanical engineering for SAGD, salt cavern, hydrogen Storage, underground waste disposal and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). Through out his career, Mr. Liu have completed thousands laboratory tests for various industrial and research projects. Mr. Liu is a registered Professional Engineer in Canada and holds a Master’s degree in Geotechnical Engineering from University of Alberta.

 

Operations Management

Headed by highly-skilled managers, the BGES Operations Team focuses on safety, efficiency and superior quality of work.

Brian Cunningham, CET

General Manager

Travis Boiteau

Manager of Operations

Keven Stone

Manager of Geoscience & Engineering Operations

David Johanson

Manager of Completions

Shaun Bollinger

Assistant Manager of Operations

Ian Brown

Bonnyville Station Manager

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM

Our dedicated Business Development / Project Management Team is always ready to assist Clients with their unique needs and objectives.

Geoscience & geotechnical lab services

Ming Liu

DFIT, mini-fracs & specialized injection test services

Dickson Lee

Wireline, ranging & perforating projects/services

Alex Naumescu

Integrated projects, data acquisition & wireline services

Blair Kostiuk

ENGINEERING & GEOSCIENCE TEAM

BGES’ technical team consists of Professional Engineers and Geologists with diverse background, expertise and comprehensive technical knowledge.

Dickson Lee

P.Eng., M.Eng., MBA

Ming Liu

P.Eng., M.Sc.

Vivian Yuen-Lee

P.Eng., M.Eng., M.Sc., MBA

Michelle Gartner

P.Eng., P.Geol., M.Sc.

Xiaolan Huang

P.Eng., Ph.D.

Jun Xiong

P.Eng., Ph.D.

What People Say

“BGES’ operation and technical teams have been diligent, resourceful and accountable from the program planning phase to the final deliverables… Throughout this time, I remain impressed with the high standard of service we received from BGES.”

BGES’ Long-term Client