Trust Earned the Old-Fashioned Way

Executive Profile: Akram Guirguis, Project Management Office and Corporate Services Director

Akram Guirguis still laughs when he thinks about his first view of Calgary.

It was January 22, after a long flight from Frankfurt, and he was peering out the airplane window as the snow-covered city came into view. Everything was white. “Where am I?” he remembers thinking. “Am I landing on the moon?” On the ground, it was roughly minus 40. A few days later, after briefly losing his bearings outside, he learned a lesson that newcomers to the prairies tend to learn quickly: in a Calgary winter, it pays to know exactly where you’re going.

A Move, Not an Impulse

The move from Egypt to Canada was a major one, but not an impulsive one. By then, Akram had already built a long career in oil and gas and knew he wanted to be in Calgary, where his industry experience would translate best. Today, as InnoTech Engineering’s Project Management Office and Corporate Services Director, he brings that experience to a role that sits at the intersection of technical discipline, business operations and day-to-day practical judgment. He is someone who likes systems, order and understanding how things work – qualities that show up everywhere from the way he talks about project delivery to the way he first fell in love with computers.

From Mainframes to DOS

That interest started early. His father, an accountant, had worked with mainframes in the 1960s and was fascinated by the arrival of personal computers in the 1980s. Akram was drawn in, too. He taught himself programming in the DOS era, before Windows, and became the kind of kid who took things apart to see what was inside. Sometimes, he admits, putting them back together was another matter. Still, the appeal was clear. Programming gave him a way to solve problems and build something at the same time. “Programming is actually about either finding the solution or creating it,” he says.

Twenty Years in the Field

Akram studied electrical engineering, with a continued focus on software and systems. In Egypt, he spent 20 years in oil and gas drilling services on the operations side of the business. The work was highly technical and exacting, involving measurement software, troubleshooting, gas readings, pressure and temperature monitoring, and the continuous oversight required to support safe drilling and interpret subsurface conditions. Over time, he transitioned into management, but his technical foundation remained central to his approach. It continues to shape how he solves problems today: patiently, methodically, and with attention to both detail and consequence.

By the time he immigrated, Akram already had a foot in the door professionally. He had interviewed online with a Canadian automation and engineering services company while still in Egypt, and received an employment offer from there soon after arriving in Calgary. He still talks about that timing with real gratitude. For a newcomer, arriving with a job already in place changes everything.

It also gave him something longer-lasting: relationships. The people he met there would become an important part of his professional circle in Canada. Several would later reappear at InnoTech, including members of the leadership team, making that early role more than a first job. It became the start of a network built on shared experience and trust.

One Portfolio, One Common Thread

In his current role, he leads the PMO and oversees corporate services, including finance, HR, IT and facilities. It is a broad portfolio, but there is a common thread running through it: helping the business work well. On the project side, that means building the standards, templates and processes that give teams a clear way to execute work, then making sure they have the support to stay on track. He is careful to describe the PMO not as a policing function, but as a practical one. The PMO exists to provide clarity, consistency and support so project teams can focus on delivering successful outcomes.

The True Measure of Good Management

He is equally clear about the role process plays in that. Poor process can slow people down. Good process does the opposite. It creates consistency, makes responsibilities clearer and keeps knowledge from living in only one person’s head. Akram has a simple test for whether that work is being done well. “The true measure of good management is when everything continues to run smoothly, even in the manager’s absence.” It is a line that captures both his standards and his temperament. He is not interested in noise or drama. He is interested in work that runs properly.

Turning Data Into Decisions

That practical mindset also shows up in his interest in data. At InnoTech, Akram has championed the use of business intelligence tools to give leaders better visibility into projects, resources, finance and business performance. By transforming operational data into actionable insights, he helps managers make faster, more informed decisions. He likes what happens when good data is put in front of the right people at the right time. A workload trend becomes easier to spot. A hiring need becomes clearer. A project issue becomes visible before it becomes a bigger problem. For someone who has always liked numbers, systems and analysis, it is a natural fit.

People Before Systems

While systems and data are important, Akram believes successful organizations ultimately depend on people. He enjoys helping managers develop stronger processes, empowering teams with better information, and creating an environment where people can focus on delivering value rather than fighting inefficient systems.

Still, the principle he comes back to most often is not technical. It is ethical.

He shares an experience from his first year in his career in Egypt, where a client challenged his team on faulty data critical to the operation. Initially, the team believed the client was mistaken; however, a deeper investigation confirmed that the issue was on their side. Akram and his team returned to the client, acknowledged the error, and discussed the action they would take. The client later noted that if they had continued to insist they were correct, they would have been removed from the site. Instead, their honesty and transparency led to a directive to correct the issue and continue the work. This experience reinforced a lasting professional principle for Akram: always be transparent, address issues directly, and prioritize resolution over defensiveness.

That outlook feels entirely at home at InnoTech. Akram brings technical experience, international perspective and a strong feel for process, but what stands out just as much is his steadiness and his belief that trust is earned the old-fashioned way – by being prepared, being honest and doing the work well.