Board of Directors
Dr. Sotiris Kapotas, Chairman: Dr Kapotas has over 20 years experience in the petroleum industry. Dr. Kapotas was an executive with TOTAL SA and has been Chairman and CEO of LandTech, an energy service company for more than 7 years.
Mr. Marlowe Allison, Director: Mr. Allison brings over 20 years of experience in the petroleum sector along with a strong financial track record. He is the Vice President and Treasurer at Canadian Pacific Railway, where he has been responsible for several key transactions including international financing re-structuring, banking syndication and debt issuances. Prior to that, he held several senior positions with both Suncor Energy from 1997 to 2009, the most recent being Vice President and Treasurer, and Imperial Oil 1988 to 1997. While at Suncor, Mr. Allison supported the company’s growth strategy through the issuance of several financings, completion of a multi- billion dollar banking syndicate and a leadership role in the treasury and tax integration for the Petro-Canada merger. Mr. Allison holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Saskatchewan and is a Chartered Accountant. He is familiar with Corporate Governance requirements and leading practices.
Mr. Ian Baron, Director: Mr Baron has over 30 years experience in the upstream oil and gas business. He is a founding partner of ESG Dubai, a firm providing project management and advisory services to the energy industry, and is a director of several private and public energy companies. Mr. Baron was CEO of Dragon Oil plc (LSE: DGO) before which he spent a large part of his career with Conoco Inc. where he reached the position of vice president and general manager of Conoco Middle East based in Dubai, UAE. Mr. Baron graduated in Geology from the University of Manchester in England in 1977 and is a member of the UK Institute of Directors, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the London Geological Society.
Mr. Leslie Goodman, Director: Mr. Goodman is a Director of several public and private companies including Genco Resources (TSXV:GGC) and Rambler Metals & Mining (TSXV:RAB, AIM:RMM). Mr. Goodman was previously with ACE Global Markets, where he was responsible for building and managing the largest insurance business in the Lloyds market.
Mr. James Hodgson, CFO, Director: Mr. Hodgson, a Partner of Al Riyal Energy, has over 30 years of oil and gas experience with extensive expertise in strategy, financial management, petroleum marketing and business planning. Until recently he was the CEO of United Oil Projects in Kuwait. Mr. Hodgson has held senior management and executive positions with Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, Qatar Petroleum, PanCanadian Petroleum (Encana) and Esso (Exxon) Canada. Mr. Hodgson received his MBA (Finance) from the University of Toronto and has a M.Sc. (Finance) from the University of Leicester in England. He has completed the academic requirements of the Certified Management Accountant accreditation and is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Mr. George Mortakis-Martakis, Director: Mr. Mortakis is currently General Manager of the Intesa San Paolo Bank, Greece (formerly American Bank of Albania). He has had extensive trading and finance experience in positions within the American Express group.
