Board Members
Richard O'C. Whittall - Director, President and CEO
Mr. Whittall is a seasoned investment banker based in Vancouver, British Columbia. His background includes serving as a past director of Miranda Mining Corp, the first junior company to promote and develop the Guerrero Gold belt, from 1995 until its sale to Wheaton River Minerals (Goldcorp) in 2003. Mr. Whittall has participated in a diverse range of corporate activities, including mergers and acquisitions and corporate financings. Most recently Mr. Whittall co-founded Aurea Mining Inc, acting as its president and CEO until its merger in 2008 with Newstrike Capital, part of The Lundin Group. He currently serves as a director of several public and private companies, and holds degrees from the University of British Columbia and University of Cambridge.
Ken Thorsen - Director
Mr. Thorsen is a Geological Engineer (P.Eng.) with an extensive 40 year background in mining exploration throughout North & South America and China and Australia. He served 21 years in several management and senior roles at Teck Corporation, retiring as President of Teck Explorations Limited in March 2002. He is currently on the board of directors of a number of junior mining companies and is frequently sought out for advice from other companies with respect to their exploration financing and field programs. He has experience in several parts of the world including Canada, China, Australia, Argentina and Venezuela and has been involved in several major discoveries both at the field and management levels, including the San Nicolas, Los Filos and Limon discoveries in Mexico. Mr. Thorsen plays an active role in Newstrike's technical programs and is a qualified person under NI43-101.
Robert K. Withers - Director
Mr. Withers is a past Director of HSBC Capital (Canada) Inc., where he advised senior management teams across a broad range of industries with respect to key corporate decisions and events including acquisitions, financings and divestitures. Mr. Withers is currently Chairman of PRT Forest Regeneration Income Fund and is an honours graduate of the University of British Columbia Bachelor of Commerce program.
Kevin Rathbun - Director
Mr. Rathbun is CFO of Realm Energy International. He has been a partner with Watershed Capital Partners since 2001 and has been directly involved in numerous successful merger, acquisition and divestiture transactions. He holds the designations of Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Financial Planner, as well as a degree from Royal Roads University.
Wojtek Wodzicki - Director
Dr. Wodzicki has worked in the international mining industry since 1987, managing exploration programs on five continents. His impressive career with Teck Cominco Ltd. included managing exploration offices in Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina. In 2001 Dr. Wodzicki was appointed Teck Cominco's General Manager of Exploration for North America and Europe-Africa. He holds a doctorate in Geosciences from the University of Arizona.
Dr. Wodzicki is currently the President and CEO of NGEx Resources Inc., a TSX-V listed exploration company with gold and copper projects in North and South America and Africa.
George Brack - Director
Mr. Brack's 25-year career in the mining industry has focused on investment banking and corporate development, specifically identifying, evaluating, and executing strategic mergers and acquisitions, and the provision of equity financing. Most recently Mr. Brack acted as the Managing Director and Industry Head, Mining Group, of Scotia Capital. Prior to joining Scotia Capital in 2006, Mr. Brack spent seven years as President of Macquarie North America Ltd., an investment banking firm specializing in merger and acquisition advice. Previous to that, Mr. Brack was Vice-President, Corporate Development at Placer Dome Inc., was Vice-President of the investment banking group at CIBC Wood Gundy, and worked in Rio Algom's Corporate Development department. Mr. Brack currently serves as a director of Alexco Resource Corp., Capstone Mining Corp., Geologix Exploration Inc. and Red Back Mining Inc.
Mr. Brack holds a BA. Sc. in Geological Engineering from the University of Toronto, an MBA from York University, and the CFA designation.