Liezl van Wyk

I am the Senior Vice President of Operations for Drax’s Northern Region Pellet Group. Drax is a renewable energy company engaged in renewable power generation and the production of sustainable biomass, with a strong focus on building out bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. 

My role is to oversee our 10 pellet operations across British Columbia and Alberta, including the connecting rail logistics and the Westview export terminal in Prince Rupert. We have a team of 380 employees driving safe production with a continuous improvement mindset as we support and deliver on Drax’s ambitions sustainability and climate change goals. 

I am very proud to work for Drax and with our teams across the company, as the work we do is critically important to help achieve the climate goals of net zero and negative emissions globally. Our combined efforts and brain power are needed to make this a success. I feel I am contributing by being part of it and bringing my education and experience to the business while addressing challenges as they arise. 

What excites me about overseeing Drax’s Canadian pellet operations is that we are improving the overall industry standard on safety and best practices. We are investing in our systems to make it safer for our people, processes and plants to operate. We are ethical and mindful of the fibre we source produce our pellets sustainably. And, we have great employees working to make everyday a success. While it’s a challenging operating environment, it is rewarding to see how resourceful our people are. 

 In addition to maintaining safe operations, representation is very important in our industry. Drax has a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and we are working hard to make it a great place to work. This is a very important initiative, as a fulfilled employee at work is also a safer worker and intellectually more engaged. Respect in the workplace is a focus for us to keep improving to ensure all people feel they are contributing fully according to their talents. It is management’s responsibility to create safe, respectful and inclusive workspaces. As a female in this industry, I am an advocate for DEI and know firsthand how balanced representation brings improved thinking, ideas and decision making. And that is what we are trying to achieve. 

I celebrate the women in the forestry industry. Resource and extractive industries can have some rough edges, and women who do well tend to be focused, hard workers and embrace a professional style, which creates very high calibre female role models who embody a willingness to collaborate, coach others and empower colleagues to live a work life balance. On International Women’s Day, I am reminded of the importance of bringing women together to help build that community which is very important for all companies to embrace and cultivate. 

The theme of International Women’s Day 2023 is #EmbraceEquity. Equity isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. A focus on gender equity needs to be part of every society’s DNA.