Board of
Directors
President and Chief Executive Officer and Corporate Secretary
Manuel Zúñiga is a petroleum engineer with 30 years of industry experience. Mr. Zúñiga was a founder and the President and Chief Executive Officer of BPZ when oil was discovered in the Corvina field of the Z-1 Block, brought online in less than two years using the first floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit ever used in Peru and developed with a buoyant drilling and production platform. Prior to completion of the Arrangement, Mr Zúñiga had been the President and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Managers of PetroTal LLC since January 2016.
He started his career as a junior engineer with Occidental Petroleum where he worked in Block 1-AB, located in the northern jungle of Peru. He was born and raised in Talara, Peru and has led exploration and development projects for oil and gas in Peru, as well as other countries in Latin America. He has established relationships with operators in Peru, including owners of the targeted assets, and has good relationships with government agencies in the region. Mr. Zúñiga holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Non-Executive Director
Gavin Wilson is an Investment Manager for Meridian Group of Companies, a private investment company, which has a significant shareholding in the Company. Mr. Wilson was the Founder and Manager of RAB Energy and RAB Octane, listed investment funds, from 2004 until 2011. From 1992 to 2003, he worked with Canaccord Capital London, an investment banking company, as Head of Oil and Gas, responsible for sales and Corporate Brokering/Finance. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French History and Civilization.
Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Board
Mark McComiskey is a partner at AVAIO Capital, a firm that focuses on value-added infrastructure investment and that spun-out of AECOM in 2019. Prior to AVAIO, Mr. McComiskey was a partner at Prostar Capital’s energy business and its successor firm, Vanwall Capital, LLC. Prior to Prostar, he was Co-Head of private equity at First Reserve, a private equity firm focused on the energy industry.
In addition to PetroTal, Mark has held various board positions for public and private companies in the US, Canada and Europe, including DHT, Dresser Rand, Ansaldo Energia, CHC, Sterling Resources, and Cambridge Energy Research Associates.
Mark holds an AB in economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard College and a Juris Doctorate, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.
Non-Executive Director
Eleanor Barker is President of Barker Oil Strategies, a Member of the Province of Ontario Resource Sector Audit Committee and a Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of PetroTal Corp. From 2017 to 2021 she was a Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Serinus Energy plc. She was a Director of Sterling Resources Ltd. from 2014 to 2017. For over 30 years, Ms. Barker was an Oil and Gas Investment Analyst in Canada. Since 1995, Ms. Barker has focused exclusively on International Oil and Gas research. Ms. Barker is a past Director of the US National Association of Petroleum Investment Analysts and a former President of the Canadian Association of Investment Analysts. From 1993 to 1995 Ms. Barker was a Director of Gordon Capital. Prior to work in financial markets, she held various positions with Esso and Gulf Canada. Ms. Barker holds an MBA from the University of Western Ontario and an Hons. B.Sc. from Queen’s University.
Non-Executive Director
Roger Tucker brings a wealth of experience having been a senior executive in the Energy sector across the globe for over 3 decades. He has held positions in companies ranging in scope and scale from Multinational Majors, listed independents, new emerging market players and private equity funded entities.
Most recently Dr Tucker has been involved in Private Equity investing in the energy space.
He has directly managed very significant development projects including one of the worlds largest field redevelopment projects located in Venezuela.
He has lived and worked in multiple countries during his career.
Roger holds a PhD in Sedimentology & Geochemistry and a BSc in Geology both from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Mr. Carranza, a resident of Lima, Peru, brings a wealth of financial and Peruvian regulatory expertise to the Company. Mr. Carranza was formerly the Director of the Institute of Government and Public Management at the University of San Martín de Porres, Peru. During 2017-2021, he served as CEO of CAF, Development Bank of Latin America. Mr. Carranza was also CEO of Sigma Capital, an infrastructure advisory firm, Chief Economist for Latin America and Emerging Markets at BBVA, and a Director of several companies.
He has been Peru’s Minister of Finance on two occasions, Deputy Minister of Finance and Director of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru and is highly educated on many government mandates, laws and regulatory workings.
Mr. Harris, a resident of London, England, is an executive and industry leader in the oil and gas industry, and since January 2021, has been Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Keystone Petroleum, a London-listed company. Mr. Harris has over 30 year’s experience in the oil and gas industry at SASOL Limited, an integrated energy and chemicals company based in South Africa where he was Executive Vice President, Upstream. Previously, he spent 25 years with BG Group in various international roles, including Executive Vice President Technical and General Manager Production Operations, as well as senior management assignments in the United States, Trinidad/Tobago and Egypt.
With a history of delivering success and shareholder value in international E&P, Jon will provide critical technical and commercial guidance as PetroTal continues with ongoing development and growth. Jon received a Master of Engineering in Fuel and Energy (with distinction) from the University of Leeds, UK.
Our team continues to deliver ahead of schedule, which sets the stage for PetroTal to grow for the foreseeable future.
Board Committees
Audit Committee
Eleanor Barker*
Mark McComiskey
Luis CarranzaCompensation and Corporate Governance Committee
Mark McComiskey*
Jon Harris
Gavin WilsonReserves Committee
Roger Tucker*
Jon Harris
Manuel Pablo Zúñiga-Pflücker
Gavin WilsonHealth, Safety, Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee
Roger Tucker*
Gavin Wilson
Luis Carranza*Chair