Mitchell, David E.

David E Mitchell was born in Calgary Alberta and was educated there. In 1943 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and after the war began work in Turner Valley, Alberta in the petroleum industry. He earned a degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma and joined Great Plains Development Company as an engineer in 1950. In 1964 he became the Chief Executive Officer, a position he held until 1974. In January 1975 he started the Alberta Energy Company which merged with Pan Canadian to form EnCana. Mitchell became Chairman Emeritus of that firm.

Mitchell received the Order of Canada in 1984 and is a member of the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame. Mitchell founded the Ernest C. Manning Awards Foundation, an organization dedicated to encouraging Canadian innovators and scientists, as president of the Independent Petroleum Association of Canada and the Canadian Oilfield Technical Society. He was also chapter chair of the Young Presidents' Organization and honorary chair of the World Police and Fire Games in 1997. He also served as chair of Chieftain International Inc. and the Calgary Police Commission. Mitchell also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary where he was a senator for nine years. He was also inducted into the Junior Achievement Hall of fame.