Mike
Miller is the president of Safety Boss, a world
renowned company providing firefighting, well
control, H2S, and other special services to the
petroleum industry. His father K.J. “Smokey”
Miller founded Safety Boss in 1956 when he was working in
the oilfields of Drayton Valley, Alberta. In 1966,
Mike Miller began his time at Safety Boss. He
learned on the job from his father, both the
business and the work of a firefighter. He left
Safety Boss and worked with an energy company in
various positions until he was promoted to
Operations Manager. This took Miller all over the
world from the North Sea to Indonesia. But the
excitement in well firefighting brought him back to
his father’s business in 1976. Mike Miller then
succeeded his father as head of the company in 1979.
For some businessmen, sitting behind a desk at a
site is the closest they get to the field work.
Miller’s experience was the opposite. Throughout the
1980s Miller and the Safety Boss team took on
blowouts all over the world, but focused in the
Middle East and Southeast Asia. This established his
international credentials and led to the selection
of Safety Boss as one of a handful of firms chosen
to control the fires of Kuwait at the end of the
1991 Gulf War. In 200 days, the Safety Boss team
brought 180 wells under control. In the deserts of
Kuwait, Miller demonstrated his superior leadership
abilities and the expertise that led to an oilfield
firefighting record one of the toughest proving
grounds in the world that will not likely be matched
again.
Mike Miller has received numerous awards for his
outstanding leadership. He was made a member of the
Order of Canada, and made the MacLean’s Magazine
Honour Roll of Canadians. As well, Oilweek
Magazine named him Oilman of the Year, and he
was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Athabasca
University. Today, Miller works from the offices of
Safety Boss, which is based in Calgary, Alberta. |