Our Team

John Mackinnon
President

John MacKinnon is the President of Connect Atlantic. John has held various executive roles in the utility construction industry for the past 10 years. Prior to his time in utility construction, John held business development and project management roles at the energy conglomerate Emera. John has extensive experience with utility transmission distribution maintenance contracts and with high-voltage EPC projects. Prior to joining the utility industry, John was a Manager in Deloitte’s Strategy and Operation Practice. John holds a Master of Business Administration from Queen’s University and Bachelor degrees from St. Francis Xavier University and Dalhousie University.

Xena Ugrinsky
Chief Transformation Officer

Xena is the CTO of Connect Atlantic Utility Services (CAUS), focused on technology enabled transformation. Xena leads the development of new digital services to benefit our utility customers as well as supporting current operational and analytic needs. She has partnered with utilities throughout North America for over two decades, developing solutions in the areas of cloud, financial management, analytics, and strategy. She holds a bachelor's degree in Finance and an MBA in information systems from New York University Stern School of Business.

Chris Upham
Chief Financial Officer

As Vice President and CFO for Connect, Chris has responsibility for the company’s accounting, finance, payroll, bonding, insurance, and human resource teams.  Through various mergers and acquisitions, Chris has spent the last 8 years of his career as CFO of a number of utility construction companies across Canada.  Prior to that, Chris worked with both Emera Inc and Deloitte LLP where he focused on business valuation and M&A.   Chris holds a business degree, is a Chartered Accountant, and is a CFA Charter holder.

Huey Lasaga
Vice President, PMO

Huey is the Vice President of the Project Management Office for Connect Atlantic Utility Services (CAUS).  Huey’s focus is on expanding the portfolio of projects and services offered by CAUS. Huey has spent his career in overhead transmission lines in leadership and management positions.  His experience includes business development, estimating, pre-construction planning, scheduling, project controls, risk management, project management and senior leadership.  Huey holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Dalhousie University and is a registered Professional Engineer in Nova Scotia.

Allan Chisholm
Director, Operations

Allan is the Director of Operations for Connect Atlantic Utility Services (CAUS) where he leads our Safety, Environmental, Fleet and Operational teams. Allan has spent his career focused on leadership and continuous improvement across a broad rage of sectors including the Automotive Manufacturing, Transportation and Utility Industries. Prior to joining CAUS he was the Director of Operations and member of the Senior Management Team for Emera Utility Services. Allan holds a diploma of Engineering from St. Francis Xavier University and bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Dalhousie University.

Mitchell Wallace
Director, Project Development

Mitchell is the Director of Project Development for Connect Atlantic Utility Services (CAUS). Mitchell is responsible for leading all project proposal and estimating activities as well as project specific procurement activities during project execution. Mitchell spent the first five years of his career as a civil engineering consultant and has spent the past six years in leadership and management positions in the electrical utility industry. His experience includes estimating, pre-construction planning, scheduling, procurement, design coordination, project management & risk management. Mitchell holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Dalhousie University and is a registered Professional Engineer in Nova Scotia.