Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of the Company is comprised of the following
five board members: John W.S. Bentley,
Cameron Barton, Nicholas J. Clayton,
Alastair Robertson, and Michael Jansa.
Mr. Bentley and Mr. Barton are also members of the executive of Artumas, while Mr. Clayton, Mr. Robertson,
and Mr. Jansa are board members independent of executive management.
John W.S. Bentley, B. Tech.
Executive Chairman of the Board: London (United Kingdom)
Mr. Bentley has over 35 years of experience in international natural resource corporations at both the executive management and board level. He has had a specific focus in the upstream oil and gas industry in Africa having been instrumental in the formation of Energy Africa Ltd where he was CEO during the period 1996 through 2000. Prior to this, he held a number of senior positions in the Gencor Group. He is currently non-executive chairman of CDS Oil & Gas Group plc, Faroe Petroleum plc,
Scotgold Resources Ltd., and a non-executive director of Resaca
Exploitation Inc.
Mr. Bentley has been a Director of the Company since August 1, 2007.
Cameron Barton, BA, CMA
President and CEO, Chief Financial Officer and Director: Calgary (Canada)
Mr.
Barton has over 29 years of finance and accounting experience within the
energy industry and has held senior financial executive positions for
multinational corporations in both Canada and New Zealand. Before joining
Artumas, Mr. Barton served two years as Vice President and General
Manager, and as Vice President of Finance (Western Region), for Direct
Energy Marketing Limited (owned by Centrica plc in the UK). He also worked
two years with Alberta’s largest transmission owner, AltaLink L.P., in the
position of Vice President Business Development. Mr. Barton enjoyed 18
years with TransAlta Corporation, holding various management positions
including Director of Financial Operations for their Transmission,
Distribution and Retail business. Mr. Barton received his Bachelors degree
from the University of Lethbridge and is a Certified Member of the Society
of Management Accountants of Alberta.
Mr. Barton has been a Director of the Company
since January 2009.
Nicholas J. Clayton
Director: Harpenden (United Kingdom)
Mr. Clayton has 22 years of experience in investment banking, with a focus on the oil & gas industry. He has been a self-employed corporate finance consultant since January, 2007 and is currently a director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Arawak Energy Corporation. He also acts as strategic advisor to several international E&P companies. He was Managing Director, Global Head of Oil & Gas for Canaccord Adams, a subsidiary of Canaccord Capital Inc. (an investment dealer) from August, 2005 to January, 2007, and for 10 years prior to August, 2005, he was with Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (the investment banking arm of Dresdner Bank AG). Mr. Clayton’s last position with Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein was Managing Director, Global Head Oil & Gas Corporate Finance. Mr. Clayton has a first class honours degree in Business Studies from the University of Portsmouth.
Mr. Clayton has been a Director of the Company since June 2008.
Alastair Robertson
Director: Calgary (Canada)
Mr. Robertson has over 27 years of experience in founding, growing, financing and managing companies, as well as in the areas of business planning, financing, public markets, shareholder relations, tax planning and acquisitions. He has been a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland for over 27 years. He was Chief Financial Officer and Director of Ausam Energy Corporation, a public oil and gas exploration company with operations in the United States and Australia, since June, 2004, and Chief Executive Officer of Northlinks Limited from 1997 to June, 2004. Since 1998 he has served as Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Adeptron Technologies Inc., a TSX listed electronics manufacturing company.
Mr. Robertson has been a Director of the Company since June 2008.
Michael Jansa
Director: Washington (USA)
Michael Jansa is a Managing Director and founding partner of Emerging
Capital Partners (ECP). With six funds and over $1.6 billion under
management, ECP is a leading private equity manager focused exclusively
on Africa. Headquartered in Washington DC, ECP has six offices across
Africa and a ten-year track record of successful investment in companies
operating in over 40 countries on the continent. As a Managing Director,
Mr. Jansa is responsible for identifying, analyzing and recommending
investments, performing due diligence, and leading transaction teams.
Before joining the ECP investment team, Mr. Jansa was a Vice President
of GE Capital's Structured Finance Group where he worked from 1995 to
2000. Mr. Jansa began his career with Union Pacific Corporation where he
worked in several financial positions with the corporation and its
subsidiary, Union Pacific Resources, from 1982 to 1991.
Mr. Jansa received a bachelor of business administration degree in
accounting from Iowa State University and a master of business
administration degree from the London School of Business. He has served
on the board of the PanAfrican Energy Corporation, NCT Necotrans, and
Somdiaa, and currently is on the board of Notore Chemical Industries and
Ocean & Oil Investments.
Mr. Jansa has been a Director of the Company since July 2009.