Charle Gamba, President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Gamba founded Canacol Energy Ltd. in 2008. He has held a variety of technical and management roles with major and mid-sized international oil companies, with the majority of his professional career focused on E&P in South America. Prior to creating Canacol, Mr. Gamba was Vice President of Exploration for Occidental Oil & Gas Company based in Bogota, Colombia. In his 8 years with Occidental, he has lived and worked in Ecuador, Qatar, Colombia, and the USA, working in a variety of technical and management roles. Mr. Gamba has also worked for Alberta Energy Company in Argentina and Ecuador, and for Canadian Occidental in Indonesia, Australia, and Canada. He started his career as a geologist with Imperial Oil in Calgary, and holds an MSc and PhD in Geology.
Mark R. Holliday, Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Holliday joined the Company from Bogota-based Petrominerales Company Ltd., where he was Vice President, Operations. Mr. Holliday has over 25 years in the international oil industry working in drilling, completions, and production. Mr. Holliday's primary focus is South America, but he has managed projects in Australia and China. Mr. Holliday holds a BSc degree in Petroleum Engineering.
Mark R Teare, Vice President, Exploration
Mr. Teare joined Canacol from Encana Company. At Encana, he held a series of senior management positions in Ecuador and Brazil. Mr. Teare has over 20 years of experience with different senior international Canadian energy companies operating in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador. He holds a MSc degree in Geology.
Brian Hearst, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Hearst is a chartered accountant with 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry with large and junior companies involved with international exploration and production activities in South America, Russia, and India. Mr. Hearst brings considerable leadership and experience to the senior management team in the areas of finance, reporting, tax planning, and regulatory compliance.
Felix Betancourt, Colombia Country Manager
For the past 30 years, Mr. Betancourt has worked with several international organizations and companies in Colombia and abroad, mainly in the energy and finance sectors. He was Vice President of Finance and Director of Corporate Planning of Ecopetrol. His experience includes working with the governments and energy authorities of Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela. Mr. Betancourt is a Business Administrator with an MSc degree in Operations Research.
Kevin Flick, Vice President, Capital Markets & Investor Relations
Mr. Flick joined the Company in 2010 from TransAtlantic Petroleum, where he led business development and investor relations. Prior to TransAtlantic, Mr. Flick led business development, capital formation, and mergers and acquisitions for various start-up and Fortune 1000 enterprises, participating in over 40 transactions with an aggregate value of US $30 billion. Mr. Flick started his career with investment banking firm Goldman, Sachs & Co. and later private equity firm Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst. He holds a BBA in Finance.