Enmax CEO's Monaco trip questioned

CBC News has learned that the head of Enmax took a trip to the French Riviera courtesy of a company that does business with the City of Calgary-owned utility company.

Enmax CEO Gary Holden and other international executives were invited by German software company SAP to see the Monaco Grand Prix and attend business meetings in 2008.

Enmax employees are not allowed to accept gifts worth more than $100 without discussing it with their superiors.

The company's annual report for 2008 states no exceptions to its ethics code were requested or granted.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said he was not aware of the trip and that he now wants to hear from Enmax officials.

"It may well be that for some reason, this wasn't considered a gift or hospitality or entertainment expense, so therefore it didn't fall under the policy," he said.

"That would strike me as a difficult case to make, given the nature of the trip."

CBC News requested an interview with Enmax board of directorschair Cliff Fryers about vendor-provided travel for its CEO. But he is not commenting.

Holden faced criticism

In October last year it was revealed Holden was among the highest paid heads of any publicly-owned company or government agency in Alberta, collecting $2.4 million in 2008 and $2.7 million in 2009, including base pay and bonuses.

Holden also came under fire for having rock stars including Tom Cochrane and Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie come to his home near Calgary to play at business parties at Enmax's expense.

Last month Holden made headlines again when he was featured on Forbes Magazine's Top 10 CEO "screw up" list for sending a company-wide emailcritical ofmedia coverage of the revelations about his pay package and house parties.

Enmax has a multi-million dollar software contract with SAP for its computer systems.

Jason Grosse, a spokesman for the German firm, said providing such trips can pose ethical problems for its clients.

"We ask attendees to just ensure they abide by their company's policies and we leave that in their hands," he said.