Our executive management team has been drawn from a combination of financial services, legal and business and geological backgrounds.
Our independent directors bring to the board a wealth of experience derived from their successful track records in the development of substantial gold operations.
* denotes Board Member
^ denotes Audit Committee Member
º denotes Compensation Committee Member
Charles Koppel – Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer *
Charles Koppel has over 20 years of international experience in company acquisitions, management and restructuring in highly regulated environments resulting from being an entrepreneur and founder of numerous businesses across diverse industries including media and telecoms, sport and entertainment, oil and gas and mining.
Mr. Koppel is the founder and a director of Samco Resources Limited established in 2006 to identify, acquire and develop mining properties in South America, principally exploration and development properties in Argentina, Chile and Peru. Mr Koppel was responsible for the development of the group’s activities in Argentina resulting in the acquisition of the properties that comprise the Corporation’s asset portfolio.
Mr. Koppel is also a non-executive director of, or advisor to, various privately held mining and exploration companies in South America and Southern Africa.
Matthias Hauger – Chief Financial Officer
Matthias Hauger has extensive experience of financial and operational management,business planning and company restructuring as a result of being a shareholder in and senior executive, as CEO, CFO and COO, of numerous international companies in diverse sectors.
He has worked with the Samco Resources Group since 2006 as consultant advisor, including as Director of Finance and Operations for the Chilean business from 2007 to 2009.
He was President of a successful private property group for over 18 years. He was an investment banker with Schroders and Morgan Stanley for 10 years, working in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance on a regional and product basis.
Michel Marier – Director * ^ º
A seasoned investment professional, Michel Marier is a senior fund manager at the Sentient Group and led the Sentient investment into Samco Gold on IPO. Mr. Marier joined Sentient from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) Private Equity division in 2009 where he had worked since 2001.
Mr. Marier is also a director of Geodynamics Ltd., a geothermal company developing an EGS project in Australia, and brings to the Board his significant experience in working with companies in the development of mineral projects, both in Argentina and elsewhere in the world.
The board considers Mr. Marier to be independent.
Kevin Tomlinson – Director * ^ º
A geologist by qualification, Kevin Tomlinson has held various corporate and investment banking roles in and around the mining and exploration industry over the past 25 years. Mr. Tomlinson recently retired as a Managing Director in Mining Investment Banking at Stifel Nicolaus Weisel having previously held similar roles at Thomas Weisel Partners and Westwind Partners. While at Stifel and its predecessors, Mr. Tomlinson led multiple financing and acquisition transactions, including the IPO of Samco Gold in 2011.
Previously, he was a Director of Natural Resources at Williams de Broe Plc, a Head of Research at Hartleys Limited and a Managing Director at Austminex NL. Mr. Tomlinson served as Chairman of ASX listed Medusa Mining (ASX: MML) between 2005 and 2010.
Mr. Tomlinson brings to the Board his strong conceptual and analytical capabilities and a thorough understanding of the market and corporate issues that affect growing companies.
The board considers Mr. Tomlinson to be independent. Mr. Tomlinson chairs the Compensation Committee.
John Hick - Director * ^ ºMr. Hick is a corporate director and President & CEO of his own consulting firm, John W. W. Hick Consultants Inc. Mr Hick has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry in both senior management positions and as an independent director. He has, in the past, held senior management positions in a number of mining companies, including President & CEO of Medoro Resources Ltd., CEO of Rio Narcea Gold Mines Ltd., President & CEO of Geomaque Exploration Inc./Defiance Mining Corp., and President of TXV Gold Inc. He is currently an independent director of a number of TSX (or TSXV) listed mining companies including Algold Resources Ltd., Carpathian Gold Inc., Eurotin Inc., Hudson Resources Inc. Marengo Mining Limited and St Andrew Goldfields Ltd. Mr. Hick is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, although not currently practicing law.
The board considers Mr. Hick to be independent. Mr. Hick chairs the Audit Committee.
Paul Fornazzari – Corporate Secretary
Mr. Fornazzari is a partner at the law firm of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP in Toronto where he advises public companies,including mining companies, on securities, mergers and acquisitions and corporate law matters.
Mr. Fornazzari has served as a director and Corporate Secretary of Latin American Minerals Inc. (a mineral exploration company listed on the TSXV with its principal project in Paraguay) since May 2005, Chairman of Lithium Americas Corp. (a mining company developing a lithium salt lake in Argentina listed on the TSX) from July 2009 to February 2010, and a director of Alpha North General Partner Inc., the general partner of Alpha North 2010 Flow-Through Limited Partnership (a public flow-through fund) since January 2010.