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Irving Oil names Alfred Stern, former CEO of Austria's OMV, as next president and CEO. Published on 09/21/2026 at 10:30 am EDT Acquiremedia SAINT JOHN - Irving Oil has announced the appointment of European energy executive Alfred Stern as its next president and chief executive. The New Brunswick company says Stern will join Irving on Oct. 1 and assume the top job effective Nov. 1, following the retirement of Jeff Matthews. Stern most recently served as chairman and chief executive of Austrian oil and gas group OMV AG. In a statement, Stern says he is honoured to join Irving Oil team at such an "important time in its history." He says he plans to build on the company's strong foundation by investing in safety, reliability and security of supply to support Irving Oil's long-term, sustainable growth. Irving Oil, a privately owned energy company based in Saint John, N.B., operates the largest oil refinery in Canada, with capacity of more than 320,000 barrels per day. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2026. (C) 2026 The Canadian Press, source Canadian Press DataFile (C) Acquiremedia - 2026

Irving Oil announces Alfred Stern as next President & CEO. Alfred Stern, incoming President & CEO of Irving Oil. September 21, 2026 SAINT JOHN, NB - Irving Oil has announced the appointment of Alfred Stern as its next President & CEO. "On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are pleased to welcome Alfred Stern as the incoming President & CEO, responsible for leading Irving Oil's strategy and stewarding the company's growth," said Maureen Kempston Darkes, Lead Director of Irving Oil's Board of Directors. "The Board conducted an extensive global search to identify a leader with the experience, perspective and strategic capabilities needed to guide Irving Oil through its next chapter." Alfred Stern will join Irving Oil on October 1, 2026, and assume the President & CEO role effective November 1, 2026. He most recently served as Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of OMV AG, one of Europe's largest integrated energy, fuels and chemicals companies with over 20,000 employees. He has more than 30 years of leadership experience across the full energy value chain spanning operations in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He has successfully led and transformed large multinational industrial groups through complex transformations and significant strategic decisions, including major organic and inorganic growth initiatives. Alfred has extensive experience working with large joint ventures, strategic partnerships and complex and multi-sovereign stakeholder management. He currently serves on the boards of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. and Bayer AG. "I am honored to join the Irving Oil team at such an important time in its history," said Alfred Stern. "For over a century, this company has been guided by its commitment to employees, customers, businesses and communities. I look forward to meeting our teams, partners and customers across Eastern Canada, New England and Ireland, learning from them and building on the company's strong foundation by investing in safety, reliability and security of supply, to support Irving Oil's long-term, sustainable growth." As previously announced, current Irving Oil President & CEO Jeff Matthews will retire from the company on November 1, 2026, following a 32-year career. Having served as President & CEO since January 2025, Jeff Matthews' previous roles in the organization include Chair of Irving Oil's Executive Management Committee, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Development Officer. About Irving Oil Irving Oil is a privately held international energy company. For more than 100 years, its commitment to doing good business has been grounded in its commitment to people - to its employees, customers, communities and partners. Founded in 1924, its mission is focused on its continued evolution to meet the changing needs of its customers. Specializing in the refining and marketing of finished energy products, Irving Oil operate Canada's largest refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, and Ireland's only refinery, located in the village of Whitegate. Irving Oil proudly serve customers through more than 1,000 fueling locations supported by a network of distribution terminals spanning Eastern Canada, New England and in Ireland, operating under the Top brand. Named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for 10 consecutive years and one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People, Irving Oil is proud of its team and its longstanding commitment to its customers and its communities.

DriveWise named "best training supplier" Clients offer congratulations on Canadian Occupational Safety award. Barrie's DriveWise/KnowledgeSurge has been named the best supplier for driver training in the 2026 Canadian Occupational Safety Readers' Choice Awards. DriveWise president Lesley de Repentigny told Taxi News that the award came as a surprise to everyone on her team: "Apparently, one of our clients nominated us. We were informed that we won our category on September 16th. It has been a pretty exciting week for everyone here, we are still absorbing the news!" The award was voted on by the safety professionals who use these solutions every day, a fact which is consistent with the incredibly high level of satisfaction DriveWise clients have expressed to Taxi News and through industry referrals (see testimonials, below). DriveWise partners with almost 100 organizations including Rogers, Irving Oil, Canada's armed forces, Toronto Police, and numerous EMS providers, municipal services, commercial trucking companies and corporate fleets to train their drivers across Canada. It has been developing industry-specific training programs since 2004. President Lesley DeRepetigny is a veteran of Canada's armed forces; her training career was launched training on flight simulator technology in the early 1990s. Because the firm serves large national organizations which run fleets of vehicles across Canada, the secret to DriveWise's success has been standardized training and a consistent curriculum, de Repentigny says. "Rogers Communications can be sure when they send someone for training, the driver trained in Vancouver will get precisely the same training program Rogers approved for Ontario. Management knows exactly what is covered in the training, and that a graduate from a DriveWise program can be qualified to work in any location where they are needed." Transportation industry stalwarts including Beck Taxi, Coventry Connections, the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario and Baird MacGregor Insurance Brokers are all clients of DriveWise and told Taxi News they are delighted to see the team at DriveWise win the "Best Supplier" award from Canadian Occupational Safety. "An outstanding driver education partner" says Baird MacGregor's Philomena Comerford. "Baird MacGregor Insurance Brokers has partnered with DriveWise for the past two decades working in unison to improve the risk profile of the transportation clients we serve," says Philomena Comerford, CEO of Baird MacGregor Insurance Brokers LP. "DriveWise has been an outstanding driver education partner whose state-of-the-art driver simulation technology and in-class defensive driver training programs have meaningfully improved driver behaviour across all its participating transportation fleets who Road Warrior News insure. "On behalf of the entire Baird MacGregor team and the clients we serve, we send our heartfelt congratulations to DriveWise for having achieved the Canadian Occupational Safety Reader's Choice 2026 Award earning top honours for Safe Driving Training: a well-deserved recognition of their top-notch training." "DriveWise fully deserves this award" says Kristine Hubbard. Kristine Hubbard, Operations Manager of Beck Taxi in Toronto says "Any driver who wants to drive for Beck must have completed Drivewise's program which is in-person, with an instructor and includes simulator training," Hubbard says. "Road Warrior News began requiring its drivers take Drivewise's Vehicle for Hire training program because Baird MacGregor Insurance required it anyway, before Toronto drastically reduced its training standard. Once Toronto went down the road of 4-hour, online programs Road Warrior News decided to require its drivers complete the Drivewise program as a condition of driving for Beck. "Congratulations to Lesley and her team. They fully deserve this award." "An awesome compliment, richly deserved " says Philip Fletcher, TTSAO Philip Fletcher, President of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (where de Repentigny also sits on the Board of Directors) says "it is a real testament to the organization that so many of their paying customers are happy to say, 'Road Warrior News is so happy they won this award.' That is an awesome compliment, richly deserved. "In fact, we recently changed over our instructor certification to DriveWise/Knowledge Search. Lesley is in charge of that for us, too: as we updated our entire system of training and certifying the Master trainers who certify everyone else, I we were very happy to be able to place our trust in Drivewise and Knowledge Search. She developed the Master certification course for us, so that we could have a school to train the Masters who can then train their own instructors. But the Master is crucially important, very detailed, instrumental for success, and she did an excellent job." "DriveWise is a trusted supplier": Way. Marc Andre Way, CEO of Coventry Connections, says "DriveWise is certainly a trusted supplier to Coventry, an essential part of its training program. "In fact, we have just expanded our program to include even more elements of DriveWise's package. We are happy to offer our sincerest congratulations on this well-deserved award. DriveWise makes Canada a safer place to be out on the roads."