Past Chair: Dan MacLean, P.Eng.

For the first half of my life, I had never heard of a micropile, yet since then it has been a pillar of my foundation of growth. I was studying to become a mining engineer in Nova Scotia and was doing an intern position at a Potash mine in New Brunswick. Due to some unfortunate events, there was a large influx of water into the mine and production was halted. I was soon laid off but was able to secure a position with a company that became Geo-Foundations a few years later. And as they say, the rest is history. Geo-Foundations, under the guidance of Todd Edmunds and Jim Bruce, became one of the first contractors in Canada to actively pursue micropile projects. An influential group of geotechs I met there all went to Queen's University, so I transferred and completed my engineering degree in 2000.

I continued to work with Geo-Foundations until 2004, earning my professional engineering designation during that time. I learned all about micropiles, anchors and grouting as the company continued to grow in the marketplace.

In 2004 I decided to leave the contracting world and try out the supplier side. Horst Aschenbroich was gracious enough to provide me the opportunity to work at Con-Tech Systems. Selling mostly strand anchors and the Ischebeck product line, I became heavily involved in many trade organizations and was proud to chair the ADSC/DFI Micropile Committee. Growing my network of people allowed me to learn various techniques across the industry. I stayed with Con-Tech until 2016, when I returned to Geo-Foundations, which has now become Keller North America.

My involvement in ISM started with my first event, held in 2007 in my home country of Canada. The comradery I witnessed between competitors and colleagues was unbelievable. This is something I have always valued and will continue to promote in the future.

I continued to be part of technical committees for four additional ISM events, being the technical chair for the International Workshop on Micropiles in both Krakow and Vancouver. In April of 2017 I was honored to be named the chair of ISM. I am committed to grow the organization while maintaining its roots.