Directors & Management
Michael Hibberd, Chairman and Non-Executive Director
Mr. Hibberd has extensive international energy project planning and capital markets experience. He has been Chairman and President of MJH Services Inc., a private corporate finance advisory company, since 1995, prior to which he spent 12 years with ScotiaMcLeod in corporate finance and held the position of Director and Senior Vice-President, Corporate Finance. Mr. Hibberd has served and continues to serve on the boards of a number of private and public oil and gas companies, including companies listed on the TSX, Amex and TSXV. Mr. Hibberd joined the Group in March 2006.
Tony Buckingham, Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Buckingham is the founder of the Group. Mr. Buckingham commenced his involvement in the oil industry as a North Sea diver and subsequently became a concession negotiator acting for several companies including Ranger Oil Limited and Premier Oil plc. He was previously a security adviser to various governments.
Paul Atherton, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Atherton is a chartered accountant, having qualified with Deloitte & Touche, and holds a degree in geology from Imperial College London. He has a corporate finance background with specific experience in the international mining and resource sectors. He joined the Group in 2000 and was elected to the board in 2005.
Salim Hassan Macki, Non-Executive Director
Mr. Macki was a Member of the State Council, Former Ambassador, Government of Sultanate of Oman and has been a Director of Oman Oil (a wholly owned Government company) since 1996. Mr. Macki holds a Master's degree in Petrochemical Engineering and has spent most of his working life in the oil industry, where he is highly regarded internationally. He holds, or has previously held, many senior executive positions in various private and state owned entities in Oman and internationally.
General Sir Michael Wilkes, Non-Executive Director
General Sir Michael Wilkes KCB, CBE, retired from the Army in 1995 as Adjutant General and Middle East Adviser to the Government. As Adjutant General, Sir Michael was the most senior administrative officer within the Army and a member of the Army Board. Sir Michael is Non Executive Chairman of Cyberview Technology Ltd and a Non-Executive director of the Stanley Gibbons Group, both AIM listed. In addition he holds non executive positions on a number of private companies including Britam Defence, Trico Ltd and chairs the Advisory Board of PegasusBridge a homeland security company. He joined the Group on Admission in March 2008.
John McLeod, Non-Executive Director
Mr. McLeod is a professional engineer with over 36 years of varied resources extraction experience. He is the President of McLeod Petroleum Consulting Limited, the President, CEO and a director of California Oil and Gas Corporation and has held senior management positions and has served on various boards including at Constellation Oil & Gas Ltd., as President and CEO of Arakis Energy Company; as VP, Operations of Pengrowth Gas Company, Rally Energy Corp., CanArgo Energy Inc. and Canoro Resources. Currently, Mr. McLeod serves as a director of Paris Energy Inc., Consolidated Beacon Resources Ltd., Tuscany Energy Ltd., Diaz Resources Ltd. and Keeper Resources Inc. He joined the Group in 1998.
Gregory Turnbull, Non-Executive Director
Mr. Turnbull is the Regional Managing Partner of the Calgary office of the law firm of McCarthy Tétrault LLP. Mr. Turnbull has extensive knowledge of corporate governance issues and has acted for many boards of directors and special committees in that regard. Mr. Turnbull started his career with the law firm of MacKimmie Matthews in 1979. From 1987 to 2001, he was a partner with Gowlings LLP (formerly Code Hunter LLP). In 2001 and 2002, he was a partner with the law firm of Donahue LLP. Mr. Turnbull has been a partner of McCarthy Tétrault LLP since July 2002. He joined the Group in 1997.
Brian Smith - VP Exploration
Mr. Smith has 30 years experience in the oil industry. He initially worked as an exploration geologist for Exxon in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Later he joined Enterprise Oil where he managed various exploration projects in the Far East and Eastern Europe/FSU. He joined Heritage as Vice President, Exploration in 1997.
Armen Sahakian - VP Business Development
Dr. Sahakian has a post graduate degree in geology from Harvard University. He has more than 30 years experience in the oil industry and has held senior management positions in business development and international petroleum negotiations. Among the companies and institutions he has worked for include Conoco, Hispanoil, Partex-CPS, OMV and the World Bank, where he served as petroleum advisor on the Oil and Gas Division's financed petroleum projects.
Stephen Kobak - VP Production Russia and CIS
Stephen Kobak, a qualified engineer, has 27 years of experience in oil and gas production operations, reservoir studies and asset development. The companies he has worked for include ESSO, Shell International and Khanty Mansiysk Oil Corporation in Western Siberia where he held senior management positions guiding technical and operations activities. He has extensive international experience working in Russia, the Far East, Middle East and Canada. Mr. Kobak joined Heritage in 2007.
James Baban - General Manager, Kurdistan
Mr. Baban has over 30 years experience in the upstream oil and gas industry. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of The Energy Institute in the United Kingdom and has previously worked for Petro-Canada, Burlington Resources, Veba Oil, BP & BG. Mr. Baban has extensive skills in the development and management of international offshore and onshore projects, having worked in the Middle East, Far East and North Africa. Mr. Baban joined Heritage in 2005.