Billiton’s Flett has experience in Canada scene

Although born and bred in England, Billiton Metals Canada’s new president, Andrew Flett, is no 0000,0509 stranger to Canada. As a university student, he spent a summer b a c k p a c k i n g from the east to the west coast, when he met his wife, a Canadian. Since then, he has made a point of returning at regular intervals. After several positions with the Shell/Billiton legal group in both England and the Netherlands, most recently as head of the legal department at Shell U.K., Flett said he is “delighted” to be settling in Canada.

“Other than washing dishes and working in a pulp and paper plant in Vancouver, this is the first time I’ve had a real job in Canada,” he said.

Now 47, Flett has three daughters aged 20, 14 and 12. Winter sports will be his next challenge, as he attempts to keep up with his Canada-educated children on the ski slopes north of Toronto, Ont.