Chayan Chakrabarty, PhD (Petroleum Engineering), MBA
President, CEO and Director
Mr. Chakrabarty has been involved in the oil and gas industry for more than 20 years, holding a number of senior executive positions. Most recently he was Vice President, International, with Daylight Resources Trust. Mr. Chakrabarty holds a PhD in petroleum engineering from the University of Alberta and an MBA from the University of Calgary. He was a senior executive of Verenex Energy, an international exploration and production company with operations in France and Libya. Prior thereto, he was Senior Vice-President at Ross Smith Energy Group, conducting independent upstream research for North American financial institutions. Earlier in his career, Mr. Chakrabarty was based in Nottingham, U.K. with Golder Associates, an international engineering consulting firm.
Bryan Goudie, CA
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Goudie has over 20 years of experience working as a Chartered Accountant with oil and gas and accounting firms and as a CFO of a Calgary-based brokerage firm. He joined Bengal Energy (formerly Avery Resources) from his role as Chief Financial Officer of Emerging Equities Inc., a full service investment and brokerage firm specializing in the junior and intermediate financial markets. Prior to his six years at Emerging Equities, Mr. Goudie accumulated over 10 years of experience in senior accounting and managerial positions with publicly traded oil and gas companies. He obtained his Chartered Accountant designation in 1992 during his employment with KPMG.
Richard N. Edgar, B. Sc., P. Geol.
Executive Vice President
Mr. Edgar, a professional geologist, has been active in the exploration and development of oil and gas in Canada and internationally since 1972. He is currently the President of Poplar Creek Resources and a Director of Shelton Petroleum. Most recently, he was President of Avery Resources, Bengal’s predecessor. Prior to that he was Chairman of Shelton Canada Corporation, a Director of Tristar and President and CEO of Energy North Inc. Mr. Edgar is a member of the Canadian Society of Professional Geologists and the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta.
Garrett Wilson, B. Sc., P.Eng.
Vice President, Engineering and Operations
Mr. Wilson, with a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Calgary and 15 years of industry experience, most recently held technical team management positions with a major Canadian independent in the fields of production and development engineering. Mr. Wilson will play a lead role in the immediate advancement of the Company’s operated activities particularly in the large Authority to Prospect (“ATP”) 732 Tookoonooka Block, as well as the Cuisinier project in the ATP 752 Barta Block, both located in Queensland, Australia.
Gordon MacMahon, MA, P. Geol.
Vice President, Exploration
Mr. MacMahon is a Professional Geologist whose career as an explorationist has spanned over 30 years in environments ranging from large companies, consulting and small companies. Most recently he has worked on international mandates including China, Australia, USA, and South America. His depth of experience has been gained through both executive and geotechnical roles in operating oil and gas companies as well as capital markets exposure. He was VP Exploration with Trident Exploration Corp., an exploration and production company focused on CBM and natural gas resource plays in Canada and USA; his experience with conventional and non conventional reservoirs will be applicable to Bengal projects in Australia and India. Prior thereto, Mr. MacMahon worked in a senior technical, corporate development role with APF Energy Trust. Earlier in his career he served as Chief Geologist in Indonesia for Canada Northwest Energy Ltd. He is a member of a number of Professional Associations including the Canadian Society of Professional Geologists, the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and the Geological Society of America.
Dr. John Jackson
Australia Country Advisor
Dr. Jackson, an independent consultant and advisor, is a widely respected oil and gas professional with 40 years experience across Europe, Africa and Australia. Grounded in geology, hydrocarbon exploration and production, Dr. Jackson’s experience includes commercial and strategic corporate development, and technical and executive management in a range of organizations with exploration and production activities in Australia, the Netherlands, UK and Africa. Dr. Jackson is based in Brisbane, Australia.
J.L. Narasimham
Advisor of Indian Operations
Mr. Narasimham, with Master’s degrees in both Petroleum Engineering and Geology, has over 30 years of extensive experience with India’s largest government-owned exploration and production company, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (“ONGC”). Mr. Narasimham’s experience has been in areas including production operations, reservoir engineering, and exploration management; he has significantly contributed towards continuous development of Indian offshore fields such as Mumbai High, Heera, Neelam and B-173A. Mr. Narasimham is based in Mumbai, India.
Ian Towers
Chairman of the Board
Mr. Towers is a professional engineer with over 20 years of oil and gas industry experience. He is currently the President and CEO of Dolomite Energy Inc., a private oil and gas company. Mr. Towers was previously President and CEO of Rio Alto Resources International Inc. from 2002 through 2004 with operations in Canada and South America.
Peter Gaffney
Director
Mr. Gaffney, a chartered engineer and geologist, is an independent adviser to the international oil and gas industry. His focus is on strategic management issues and the integration of surface and subsurface operations with particular reference to National Oil Companies. He was a founding partner of Gaffney, Cline and Associates, an international petroleum management and technical advisory firm, having direct involvement with the firm until it was acquired in 2008. He is a former president (1996) of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, a fellow of the Geological Society and a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
James B. Howe
Director
Mr. Howe is an independent businessman and chartered accountant with significant experience in the oil and gas industry. He is the President of Bragg Creek Financial Consultants Ltd., a private financial consulting company. Among others Mr. Howe is also a member of the Board of Directors of Ensign Resource Service Group Inc., Wrangler West Energy Corp. and Seaview Energy Inc.. Mr. Howe is Chair of the Audit Committee of Bengal Energy.
Stephen N. Inbusch
Director
Mr. Inbusch brings more than 40 years of international energy sector investment banking experience, including merger and acquisition transactions and raising capital. During the course of his career, Mr. Inbusch has held Managing Director positions at Canadian and U.S. banking firms and public oil and gas companies. , including CIBC World Markets, and Randall & Dewey/Jeffries. Mr. Inbusch received his B.A. from Colgate University in 1971. Mr. Inbusch is Chief Financial Officer of Dynamic Global Advisors and has held that position since 2009.
Dr. Brian J. Moss
Director
Dr. Moss brings more than 35 years of international exploration and development experience in oil and gas to Bengal. Dr. Moss is a director and Executive Vice President (Latin America) of Antrim Energy Inc. Previously, he was President and CEO of Los Altares Resources Ltd. and has held executive positions at Rio Alto Exploration Ltd., Alberta Energy Company and Conwest Exploration Ltd. Dr. Moss holds a Ph.D. in Petroleum Geology from the Royal School of Mines, University of London, UK. He is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta.
Robert Steele
Director
Mr. Steele is a professional engineer and is currently an independent businessman with over 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Mr. Steele has previously held management roles with Imperial Oil Limited and Canadian Hunter Exploration Limited. Mr. Steele has previously been a director of Technicoil Corp., Berens Energy Ltd. and Find Energy Ltd., a previously listed TSX company and was the founding CEO of Stellarton Energy Corporation (a company composed of an oil and gas production division and Secure Oil Tools, an optimization focused service company). Mr. Steele currently is a director of two Canadian public companies, Global Energy Services and Skywest Energy Ltd.
Bill Wheeler
Director
Mr. Wheeler co-founded Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel (“Leith Wheeler”) in 1982, which firm currently manages over $11 billion for private and institutional clients. Mr. Wheeler has retired from the day to day operations of Leith Wheeler but continues to serve as Chairman of the Board. He also sits on the board of Azabache Energy Ltd. In addition, he is President of Texada Capital Management Ltd., a private company. Mr. Wheeler holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation and received his B.Comm from the University of British Columbia in 1970.