2017 Update
Doug Ramsay (PT '12), Co-founder and Vice-chair of the board for Calfrac Well Services Ltd.; Board of Governors, SAIT
"I have always said that SAIT was really the leverage of my career. It allowed me to put some education behind my experience. It put something behind my name so when it came to the resume, it wouldn't get thrown to the side. I also met two of my very good friends there — one at registration — that I've maintained friendships with throughout our business and personal lives.
I was lucky I found my passion, the oil and gas business, as a very young man growing up in an oilfield town and family. I never thought work was work. Not every day was enjoyable, but I never had a problem getting up and going to work. For people starting out at SAIT, it's pretty simple: work hard; pay attention to the education both inside and outside the institution; make friends and relationships that you can lean on in the future. It's the people that make it: you can't run a company of 4,000 people by yourself. Heck, you can't run a company of 20 people by yourself. It takes a lifetime to get a reputation; it takes one bad move to lose that. Always be true to yourself and be honest.
I guess we're so involved in the community because it's something you learn from your parents, that you had to help each other out. My wife and I have donated to SAIT, STARS, Foothills Country Hospice ... I grew up as a kid in a trailer house. I ask myself how I can get so damn lucky. Maybe I can do something for someone else. Not everybody has money, but everybody has time and sometimes that contribution is more valuable."
Doug and his partners started their oilfield service company, CalFrac, in 1999 with a staff of 22 and annual sales of $4 million. CalFrac grew to become a world-leading oil field service provider with annual sales of $1.5 billion and a staff of 3,400 people in six countries. In spite of this far reaching success, Ramsay remains steadfastly connected to his family, his ranch and the organizations that are close to his heart. His success in business has paralleled his generosity to the community — and to SAIT in particular. In 2012, Doug and his wife Susan donated $3 million to fund SAIT's Ramsay Centre for Petroleum Engineering.