“Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off! But if you don’t have one, realize it is your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you.” – Amelia Earhart‍

Amelia Earhart was a pioneer of the skies. She embodied how engineering, technology, and the human spirit all intersect within the world of aviation. Great pilots, like Amelia Earhart, tend to have two characteristics: they’re leaders and they dare to dream. Amanda Reitenbach, Director of Project Services at True North Solutions also shares those qualities – and she happens to be a pilot too.

Flying has been a part of Amanda’s life as far back as she can remember. Her father and grand father were both farmers with a passion for flying. When other kids were watching television, she was watching the grass runway fade from view thousands of feet above her family’s farm. “Flying gives you a different perspective on the world and it presents different challenges every single day. I still carry that with me,”Amanda says.

Her experiences flying with her father translated to a strong appreciation for math and science in school, ultimately leading her to study engineering in university. After five summers gaining insight and exposure working in the field, she was hooked. “I loved to combine the math and the science on the practical side, and I enjoyed solving problems and making things work,” Amanda says.

After graduation, Amanda dove headfirst into the “sink or swim” world of engineering at Kenonic Controls in Calgary… And she swam! In 1998, she was a technical lead on one of the first artificial intelligence projects for downhole pump predictive failure and production optimization for a tier 1 company in North America. “It was a tremendous opportunity, and we had an exceptionally strong group of technical people in the company. I’m proud to say many of them are still my close friends today.”

Amanda continued to grow and explore other companies on the producer side of the industry where she progressed from technical to executive leadership roles, developing a range of skills from delivering transformational change by building and leading high-performing teams to facilitating integration and collaboration to deliver outstanding financial, operational, and HS&E results. “It all comes down to building strong relationships and building exceptional teams,” she says. “My success is derived from the success of the people who work for me and around me. If I can ensure that other people are set up for success, then my success follows.”

It was Amanda’s leadership capacity and core beliefs in the value of teamwork and building a positive, high-performance, and supportive culture that brought her to TrueNorth at the end of 2023. “True North speaks very highly of their corporate values, and that was something that aligned very strongly with my own moral compass and the foundations on which I’ve always built teams in the past.”

Amanda has come full circle in her professional career at True North, working with many colleagues she connected with right out of university. But she’s also come full circle in her personal life as well. Following in her grandfather and father’s footsteps,Amanda became a commercially licensed pilot in 2003. Although she never pursued a career as a commercial pilot, the achievement delivered just what she was looking for.

“For me, it was a challenge,” she says. “I started with my private license followed by my night and instrument ratings and then decided, ‘Well, I might as well get my commercial license while I’m at it.’”

In work and life, Amanda has a pilot’s perspective; always looking for the next challenge with her sight set on the skies.