DICK VAN GENNE: Experience & Personality

Trait #1: People Whispering

Dick Van Genne began as a common roofer with an uncommon eye for detail. This helped him rise to the position of foreman at a relatively young age, which often meant running crews of men twice his age.

He quickly realized that his long‐term success would owe as much to his ability to align people as it would his knack for aligning shingles. He learned to use an economy of words, filtered through strong discernment. This skillset became especially useful for his position at Topside, as it often involves coordinating remedial work (i.e., gently handling egos while ensuring the end product is a success).

Trait #2: Obsessive Observation

In his experience with Suncor and Syncrude, Dick worked on virtually every form of roofing system. In each instance, he prodded deeply and took meticulous notice of fine details. This “mental encyclopedia” allows him to quickly recreate the most likely approach taken by the original construction crew, which he is then able to cross‐reference against known failure‐points to identify the present culprit.

While most tenured roofers can readily identify common mistakes, it takes specialized experience with non‐traditional materials, methods, and environments to diagnose more sophisticated problems. This is especially true with large commercial and industrial installations that involve complex membrane‐assembly and chemical waterproofing. Dick has this experience in spades, in both oilfield and traditional settings.