Meet the Team
At Bassett Petroleum Distributors Ltd, our team members have the right experience and knowledge to serve your petroleum needs. Together, we make sure your residential and commercial fuel, lubricant and equipment requirements are met, and our customers are satisfied at every touchpoint.
Steve Bassett: President/Owner
Steve Bassett started the company known as Bassett Petroleum in October 1989 as an agent for Shell Canada. The main functions of the business were to sell fuel products for both home heating oil and industrial supply in Hay River, Fort Smith Enterprise, Fort Providence and Fort Resolution. In 1991, the company diversified into the stockpiling and distribution of salt products. They acted as a broker for several years until 2002, where he acquired the business as an independent contractor. In 1992, Bassett Petroleum expanded to Yellowknife to establish a broker agency for the distribution and sales of petroleum products in the area and the northern remote communities. In addition to the sales and distribution of products, Bassett also assisted the communities of Fort Smith, Katlodeeche First Nation and Enterprise with the development of their own gas retailers. He installed the pumps and supplied the product to the three retailers.
Norm Bassett: Vice President/General Manager
Norman grew up in the Bassett Petroleum Distributors Ltd family fuel business. As the eldest son of the founder Steve Bassett, he became involved with the business at an early age. He has completed duties including off-loading rail cars, drumming fuel, loading-trucks, operating various equipment, working in the maintenance department, etc. before working full time for the company after University graduation. Norm has held positions of Dispatcher, Operations Manager, Manager of Sales and Marketing until his new position as Edmonton Branch Manager, which he assumed in 2007. Norman was appointed a Vice President in 2009 with special emphasis on finances in addition to his duties of overseeing the operations of all four branches.
Jody Steen: Director of Industrial Relations
Jody assumed the duties of Director of Industrial Relations on June 30, 2018. Jody has 24 years of transportation experience. He has been involved in many aspects of the transportation industry, including HR, Safety, Operations Manager, Dispatcher and Driver and Personnel Training. He has successfully completed his Health and Safety Administration Certification from the ASCA and has completed courses through the AMTA as well.
Craig Zelizney: Manager of Commercial Fuels and Lubricants
Craig Zelizney started his career in Petroleum sales with Federated Co-op. From there, he moved over to Bluewave Energy as an Account Manager. Craig was hired to handle the sales and branch transitions from Shell to Bluewave Energy for Northern Saskatchewan, Northern Alberta, Northern British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. With an excellent sales record, Craig was promoted to Branch Manager in Edmonton. From this position, Craig was then promoted to Regional Operations Manager for Lubricants, Fuels and Propane.
Craig Zelizney was hired by Bassett Petroleum in 2012 as their Manager of Business Development but has recently been promoted to Manager of Commercial Fuels and Lubricants.
David Podlubny: Senior Account Manager, Commercial Fuels and Lubricants
Dave Podlubny began his career in petroleum sales with AFD or Alberta Fuel Distributors in 1997. After AFD, Dave went to the technical side of the industry and started a sales trend with Staveley Services Canada in Edmonton. This led him to seven good years with The Novaflex Group as a Territory Manager, at which point he accepted a Senior Account Manager position in 2014 with the Bassett family. It's been a great new start, and Dave is looking forward to an exponential sales growth with the company.
Chris Schroter: Controller
Chris recently took over the Controller position in June 2018.
Gail Marshall: Branch Manager, Hay River
Gail started with Bassett Petroleum in 2005 as a Finance Clerk. Today, she is the Branch Manager of Bassett Petroleum.
Peter Lane: Branch Manager, Yellowknife
Peter was originally hired as a driver for the previous shell agent in Yellowknife. When Steve Bassett became the agent in Yellowknife in 1997, he did not hesitate to retain Peter and made him the Branch Manager of Yellowknife.
Tony McEwen: Branch Manager, Fort Saskatchewan
Tony was hired by Bassett Petroleum in 2003. He made the transition from Driver to Branch Manager over the last 12 years and has become a valuable leader for Bassett Petroleum.
Shawn Furlong: Branch Manager, Fort McMurray
Shawn was hired in 2008 to oversee operations in Fort McMurray as Operations Manager. Shawn has been around the fuel industry for over 20 years. He started as a driver, and most recently, was promoted to Branch Manager in 2010.
