Jul 7, 2026 · 58 min · 12 segments
In this episode of C-Suite Unplugged, BCA president Adam Legge sits down with Chris Carlsen, President and CEO of Birchcliff Energy, for a conversation on leadership, natural gas, and Canada's…
Chris CarlsenGuest
Adam LeggeHost
As you've grown through the company, built your career, are there any people or moments you'd like to single out as sort of helping shape your leadership style and approach? Mentors, guides, tough learnings that turned into, you know...
And I think when you think about all the different leaders that I've been fortunate enough to work for and work with, I tried to pick up.
skill sets from each one and i can take that all the way back to my first job in the field with dean who was just so curious like i i really envy curiosity and then leadership styles all the way through in canna into that smaller organization which just teaches you resilience to your point you're you're never out of it but there's always challenges right like you really have to have a honestly, you have to have an optimistic mindset, but you can't focus on the negatives.
And if you do, you'll just get lost in them because there's always ups and always downs.
And I think I've tried to, and maybe it's a bit my personality and my wife hates this sometimes, but I never get too high in the highs and I never get too low in the lows.
But, you know, we've gone through, if I just look back at my history personally, I've just gone through so many different ups and downs and trying to have that level-headed mindset that, you know, people aren't asking, oh, I wonder what type of Chris we're getting today.
Maybe other people have a different view, but I think my view is I'm pretty calm and collective.
And I've seen how our leadership group at Birchcliffe, how we manage through COVID and just that constant communication that the leadership team gave to our staff and all of us at the same time.
The business, as an executive team, we wore some of that business stuff where you're like, oh, geez, what are we going to do now? But I think we had positioned the company and the business that we can withstand the ups and the downs.
As you've grown through the company, built your career, are there any people or moments you'd like to single out as sort of helping shape your leadership style and approach? Mentors, guides, tough learnings that turned into, you know...
And I think when you think about all the different leaders that I've been fortunate enough to work for and work with, I tried to pick up.
skill sets from each one and i can take that all the way back to my first job in the field with dean who was just so curious like i i really envy curiosity and then leadership styles all the way through in canna into that smaller organization which just teaches you resilience to your point you're you're never out of it but there's always challenges right like you really have to have a honestly, you have to have an optimistic mindset, but you can't focus on the negatives.
And if you do, you'll just get lost in them because there's always ups and always downs.
And I think I've tried to, and maybe it's a bit my personality and my wife hates this sometimes, but I never get too high in the highs and I never get too low in the lows.
But, you know, we've gone through, if I just look back at my history personally, I've just gone through so many different ups and downs and trying to have that level-headed mindset that, you know, people aren't asking, oh, I wonder what type of Chris we're getting today.
Maybe other people have a different view, but I think my view is I'm pretty calm and collective.
And I've seen how our leadership group at Birchcliffe, how we manage through COVID and just that constant communication that the leadership team gave to our staff and all of us at the same time.
The business, as an executive team, we wore some of that business stuff where you're like, oh, geez, what are we going to do now? But I think we had positioned the company and the business that we can withstand the ups and the downs.
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