DURHAM, N.H. - The president of Irving Oil will discuss the changing energy landscape in North America, with particular focus on oil and gas and the refining business, at the next meeting of the University of New Hampshire CEO Forum.

The event will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012. The program begins at 8 a.m. in Huddleston Hall with coffee and networking, with a full breakfast at 8:30 a.m.

Mike Ashtar is president of Irving Oil, and since July 2008, he has led the company's refining, commercial, and marketing operations. He is the former executive vice president of Suncor Energy where he managed operations and major capital growth projects. Ashtar holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and economics, a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, and an MBA from the University of Toronto.

Irving Oil, founded in 1924 by K.C. Irving, is a family-owned and privately held regional energy processing, transporting, and marketing company headquartered in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, with U.S. marketing operations in Portsmouth.

Initiated in 1997, the UNH CEO Forum is an outreach program of the UNH Whittemore School of Business and Economics and the UNH Graduate School serving CEOs, presidents, and senior managers of companies in northern New England. The forum provides its members with opportunities to meet and exchange ideas with their peers in business and industry in an informal setting. The UNH CEO Forum is sponsored by the law firm of Pierce Atwood, Optima Bank and Trust, Sprague Energy, Crystalvision, and Berry, Dunn, McNeil and Parker. For more information about the CEO Forum, visit   http://www.unh-ceoforum.org
Please register by Oct. 4. To register or become a member of the UNH CEO Forum, call Barbara Draper at 603-862-1107, or e-mail her at barbara.draper@unh.edu The event is free to members and $49 for first-time attendees.
The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

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