Nancy Southern
Chair & Chief Executive Officer, ATCO Ltd. and Canadian Utilities Limited
ATCO Ltd.
Nancy Southern, A.O.E., B.E.M., is Chair & Chief Executive Officer of ATCO Ltd., and Chair & Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Utilities Limited, an ATCO Company. Reporting to the Boards of Directors, she is responsible for the leadership, strategic direction, and operations of both companies.
Ms. Southern plays a prominent role in advocating on social issues of global importance—most notably, the rights of Indigenous peoples and the role of women in business. She is an Honorary Chief of the Kainai (Blood Tribe of Alberta) who bestowed the name Aksistoowa'paakii, or Brave Woman, upon her in 2012.
Over the course of her career, Ms. Southern has served with many respected business and academic organizations. She is a member of the Business Council of Canada, the American Society of Corporate Executives, and is a Canadian member of the Trilateral Commission. She is also a Distinguished Policy Fellow and member of the University of Calgary School of Public Policy Advisory Council. Ms. Southern is the recipient of numerous honours for her community leadership and commitment to democratic principles and free enterprise. Most recently, in 2025, she was honoured with the King
Charles III Coronation Medal for her outstanding services to Alberta, Canada and her fellow citizens. In 2024, she was recognized as a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence and earned the 2024 Patriot Award from Canada’s True Patriot Love Foundation. In 2023, she was awarded the Lifetime Business Achievement in the Americas Award from the Canadian Council for the Americas and was named Energy Person of the Year by the Energy Council of Canada. In 2022, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce honoured her with the Canadian Business Leader Lifetime Achievement Award and in the same year, she was also honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Ms. Southern studied economics and commerce at the University of Calgary, which also awarded her its highest academic honour, an Honorary Doctor of Laws, in 2014. She also holds Honorary Doctor of Laws
Ms. Southern plays a prominent role in advocating on social issues of global importance—most notably, the rights of Indigenous peoples and the role of women in business. She is an Honorary Chief of the Kainai (Blood Tribe of Alberta) who bestowed the name Aksistoowa'paakii, or Brave Woman, upon her in 2012.
Over the course of her career, Ms. Southern has served with many respected business and academic organizations. She is a member of the Business Council of Canada, the American Society of Corporate Executives, and is a Canadian member of the Trilateral Commission. She is also a Distinguished Policy Fellow and member of the University of Calgary School of Public Policy Advisory Council. Ms. Southern is the recipient of numerous honours for her community leadership and commitment to democratic principles and free enterprise. Most recently, in 2025, she was honoured with the King
Charles III Coronation Medal for her outstanding services to Alberta, Canada and her fellow citizens. In 2024, she was recognized as a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence and earned the 2024 Patriot Award from Canada’s True Patriot Love Foundation. In 2023, she was awarded the Lifetime Business Achievement in the Americas Award from the Canadian Council for the Americas and was named Energy Person of the Year by the Energy Council of Canada. In 2022, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce honoured her with the Canadian Business Leader Lifetime Achievement Award and in the same year, she was also honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Ms. Southern studied economics and commerce at the University of Calgary, which also awarded her its highest academic honour, an Honorary Doctor of Laws, in 2014. She also holds Honorary Doctor of Laws