Officers
President and Chief Executive Officer
Corey C. Ruttan
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Ruttan was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in May 2010 and previously was the Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer of the Company since May 2006. Mr. Ruttan was the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. and has held various positions with Petrobank since March 2000, including Chief Financial Officer, Vice President Finance, Director of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations, Director of Corporate Finance and Manager of Corporate Finance. He also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of PetroBakken Energy Ltd. from October 2009 through May 2010. Mr. Ruttan previously served as Vice President of Caribou Capital Corp. from June 1999 to March 2000; Manager Financial Reporting of Pacalta Resources Ltd. from May 1997 to June 1999; and articled with KPMG from September 1994 to May 1997. Mr. Ruttan obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in Accounting from the University of Calgary in 1994 and obtained his Chartered Accountant designation in 1997.
Chief Financial Officer
Kelly Sledz
Chief Financial Officer
Kelly Sledz is a Chartered Accountant with over 15 years work experience in accounting, tax and finance. Mr. Sledz joined Petrominerales in January 2009 as Finance Manager, and has held management positions at two other publicly listed oil and gas companies, First Calgary Petroleums Ltd. and Mega West Energy Corp. Prior to working in the industry, Mr. Sledz spent a number of years in public accounting at KPMG in Calgary focusing on oil and gas clients and international clients in Belgium. Mr. Sledz obtained his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta in 1995 and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Chief Operating Officer
John Koch
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. John Koch was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Petrominerales in January 2013. Prior to joining Petrominerales, Mr. Koch held increasingly senior technical and operational roles at various large and mid-sized energy companies operating in Canada and internationally. Most recently, John has been involved as the founder and CEO of an efficiency technology company, while concurrently executing his role as COO of an oil shale start-up company. From 2001 to 2007, Mr. Koch was the Vice President Operations and Chief Operating Officer of Trident Exploration Corp. where he managed considerable capital budgets and programs, achieving best in class operating costs and capital efficiencies. In addition, Mr. Koch was the Vice President International Operations of Pacalta Resources Ltd. from 1996 to 1999. With over 30 years of industry experience, John brings depth of experience, demonstrated operational execution skills along with an emphasis on operational efficiency.
Vice President Services and Logistics
Ruben Cano
Vice President Services and Logistics
Mr. Ruben Cano has been with Petrominerales since 2007 and was appointed Vice President of Services and Logistics of Petrominerales in May 2010. Mr. Cano has over 15 years of industry experience, overseeing the logistics, co-ordination and transportation of operational materials, services and production. Mr. Cano received a bachelor’s degree in 1978 and his certification in Business Administration in 1985.
Vice President Organizational Performance and
Human Resources
Jeff Chant
Vice President Organizational Performance and Human Resources
In June 2011, Mr. Jeff Chant was appointed Vice President of Organizational Performance and Human Resources. Prior thereto, Mr. Chant was the Vice President Organizational Performance of Petrominerales since September 2010. Mr. Chant has previously served as the Managing Director of Arbinger Canada, and through Arbinger has worked with Petrominerales since 2008. Mr. Chant has studied social sciences, theology, education and psychology, as well as attended executive education programs at Harvard Business School and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Andrea Hatzinikolas
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Andrea Hatzinikolas joined Petrominerales in June 2011. Prior to joining Petrominerales, Ms. Hatzinikolas was General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary of Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. since January 2007 and worked closely with Petrominerales and PetroBakken Energy Ltd., including holding the position of General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary of Petrominerales and Corporate Secretary of PetroBakken. Prior to joining Petrobank, Ms. Hatzinikolas was an associate in the Calgary office a national law firm, with a practice focusing on securities and corporate law. Ms. Hatzinikolas received her Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1999 and Bachelor of Laws degree in 2003.
Senior Vice President Exploration
Erik Lyngberg
Senior Vice President Exploration
Mr. Lyngberg was appointed Petrominerales Senior Vice President, Exploration in May 2010, and was Vice President, Exploration for Petrominerales since August 2008. Prior to becoming Vice President for Petrominerales he was Chief Geologist since July 2007. Mr. Lyngberg has been with Petrobank Energy Ltd. (which until December 31, 2010 included Petrominerales as a business unit) since February 2001. During this time he has been extensively involved in each of Petrobank’s business units, including the initial drilling phases at Orito and Neiva in Colombia. Prior thereto, Mr. Lyngberg was a Senior Geologist for Newport Petroleum Corp/Hunt Oil from November 1998 to January 2001, Geologist for HCO Energy/Pinnacle Resources from February 1997 to July 1998, Geologist for Westcoast Petroleum/Numac Energy from 1991 to 1997, and a Geologist for Shell Canada from 1985 to 1991. Mr. Lyngberg has a Master’s Degree in Geology from the University of British Columbia, as well as a Bachelor’s degree from the University of British Columbia.
Vice President Corporate Affairs
María Mercedes Palacio
Vice President Corporate Affairs
Ms. Palacio joined Petrominerales in November 2010 as Director of Corporate Affairs. On April 3 2012, Ms. Palacio was appointed Vice President Corporate Affairs. Ms. Palacio has over 20 years’ experience in the Colombian oil and gas industry, managing a variety of issues, including joint ventures, legal, community and environmental matters and government and public relations. Prior to joining Petrominerales, Ms. Palacio worked for BP Exploration Company Colombia for over 11 years in different areas of the company. In addition, her prior roles include acting as Corporate Secretary and Legal Advisor to TransGas de Occidente and as General Manager for Pan Andean Colombia. In 1991, Ms. Palacio received her Law and Social Economics Degree from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
Vice President Finance
Tannya E. Morales
Vice President Finance
Mrs. Morales-Kozy was appointed Vice President, Finance in May 2010 and was Corporate Controller since March 2006. Mrs. Morales-Kozy has held a number of positions with EnCana Corporation and its predecessors Alberta Energy Company and Pacalta Energy Ltd. including Finance Manager (Ecuador), and International Accounting Manager and Corporate Financial Advisor (Canada) from July 1998 to December 2003. She was Finance and Administrative Director of Rhone Poulenc Rorer in Ecuador from July 1997 to July 1998 and served as Assistant Controller at Occidental Petroleum from January 1988 to July 1997. She was a public accountant with Arthur Andersen & Co. between 1986 and 1988. Ms. Morales-Kozy obtained her C.P.A. designation in 1989 and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University San Francisco in 1996.
Vice President and Country Manager, Colombia
Jaime Valenzuela
Vice President and Country Manager, Colombia
Mr. Valenzuela was appointed Vice President and Country Manager, Colombia in January 2013, and since June 2011 was previously our Vice President Project Management and Planning, and Director of Operations. Mr. Valenzuela joined Petrominerales in June 2010 as Director, Project Management and Planning. Prior to joining Petrominerales, Mr. Valenzuela was Trident Exploration Corp.’s Director, Project Management Office, for five years. Mr. Valenzuela previously worked for Encana Corporation from November 1999 to March 2005 in various project management and production roles in Canada and internationally on both onshore and offshore projects. In addition, Mr. Valenzuela was the Production Supervisor at Pacalta Resources Ltd. from 1997 to 1999. Mr. Valenzuela received a Civil Engineering degree from Santa Maria Technical University (Chile) in 1994 and obtained his Project Management Professional Designation in 2003.
