Rick George, Suncor CEO Who Helped Pioneer Oil Sands, Dies at 67

(Bloomberg) -- Rick George, who helped pioneer Canada's oil-sands industry during two decades at the helm of Suncor Energy Inc., died on Tuesday after a year-and-a-half battle against acute myeloid leukemia. He was 67.

George served as Suncor's chief executive officer from 1991 to 2012, following stints at Texaco Inc. and Sunoco LP. At Suncor, he helped transform the company into Canada's largest integrated energy company and oversaw the 2009 takeover of Petro-Canada, a fuel distributor and retailer.

“Rick's impact on the oil sands industry, the Canadian business community, and the broader community has been immeasurable,” Steve Williams, Suncor's current CEO, said in a statement.

George also served on the boards of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Osum Oil Sands Corp., Royal Bank of Canada and Obsidian Energy Ltd. and was a partner at Novo Investment Group.

Survivors include his wife and three children.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Orland in Calgary at korland@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net, Steven Gittelson at sgittelson@bloomberg.net, Carlos Caminada, Jim Efstathiou Jr.