Neil Keown, P.Tech.(Eng.)
Neil Keown has taken on responsibilities with half a dozen volunteer roles at ASET. He actively serves as chair of both the investigative and joint investigative committees, a member of both the joint P.Tech. regulations committee and the joint board of examiners, and a subject matter expert. He’d like to channel this substantial experience towards a position on Council.
If elected, Neil will focus on the continuing cause of Bill 23, The Professional Governance Act, and all the benefits it will bring to ASET members. Adding to that, he will help present and future members have a voice and be engaged as stakeholders in the association. With experience in federal and provincial government relations through other non-profits he belongs to, Neil knows how to discuss complex topics with elected officials and provide alternate perspectives they don’t often hear.
As a tech startup founder, Neil has additionally experienced the many challenges of recruiting skilled talent and navigating the balance between nurturing new graduates and experienced resources. He’s also learned to pivot quickly, in light of unforeseen challenges and shifting circumstances, all of which have contributed to lessons that can help him as a Council member.
Neil holds 28 years of experience in the construction, engineering, and technology sectors. He’s worked for firms like Worley Parsons, Rockwell Automation, and Cenovus, as a controls technologist, and as a team lead for multi-disciplinary engineering teams. He's spent the last few years building a technology startup, Sawback Technologies Inc., across all facets, including technology lead, market validation, business development, recruitment, and investor relations. Sawback uses near-surface remote sensing tech to help clients gain valuable data for decisions, with minimal impact to the environment.
Adding to his volunteerism with ASET, Neil has given his time and effort to a handful of other organizations. He’s a member of the board of directors, and chair of the governance committee and recruitment committee for the Alberta Conservation Association, and a Canada committee member for 2% for Conservation, to name a few. In the past, he served as the Alberta chapter chair of the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
For his unflappable dedication to the association, Neil received the 2020 ASET Volunteer of the Year Award. He graduated from Confederation College with an electrical engineering technology – computer control diploma in 1996.