DISCOVERY ENERGY - Key Persons
Mr. Adams has over 40 years of experience in the upstream oil and gas industry spanning technical, commercial and corporate roles with large and small companies including Amoco Canada and Santos Ltd where he gained Cooper Basin experience relevant to Discovery Energy. In 2001 he joined Bass Strait Oil Company Ltd where he became Managing Director. Subsequently he took on the role of Commercial and Exploration Manager at 3D Oil Ltd and later acted as an Advisor to the company. He holds an MBA from Adelaide University and a BSc in Geophysics from Memorial University in Canada. He is a member of PESA and a former member of the APPEA Exploration Committee and AICD. Mr. Adams has been a director of Discovery Energy SA Pty Ltd since 2012.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Management Team
- Executive Chairman of Sintana Energy Inc
Mr. Spickelmier is the Executive Chairman of Sintana Energy Inc. (SEI:TSX-V), a Canadian public company with oil and gas operations in South America. Since being founded in 2011, Sintana Energy has raised in excess of $35 Million in funding. He was the founder and Chairman of Westside Energy, a Texas barnett shale producer which he started in May 2003 and which raised approximately US$35M in financing and sold for US$230 million in 2008. Prior to joining Westside Energy, he was a partner with the law firm Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand. From April 2001 through July 2003, Mr. Spickelmier was of counsel with the law firm Haynes and Boone, LLP. Mr. Spickelmier holds a B.A. from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a J.D. from the University of Houston.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Director
- Member of the Management Team
Mr. McKenzie has over 30 years of experience working with public companies in the industrial and resource sectors. Over the past 20 years in the Oil & Gas sector, Mr. McKenzie has been engaged in various executive, finance, start-up, and consulting capacities. He was previously the CEO of Star Oil Company a private start-up oil and gas exploration and production company he founded in September 2009 to acquire Eagle Ford assets in South Texas. In 2004, he was a founding principal and later served as the Chief Operating Officer of Paxton Energy, Inc., with responsibility for the company's development and operations at the Cooke Ranch project located in La Salle County, Texas. Mr. McKenzie has consulted with numerous public and private oil & gas, mining and industrial companies with both domestic and international operations.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Company Secretary
- Corporate Secretary
- Director
Melanie Leydin is an experienced Company Secretary and Chief Financial Officer having held these positions at a number of small public companies. Ms. Leydin is the Principal of Leydin Freyer Corporate Pty Ltd, a company that specializes in outsourced company secretarial and accounting services to public listed companies in the biotechnology and resources industry.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Management Team
- Secretary
- Treasurer
Mr. Austin has over 35 years of both domestic and international industry experience focused on finance, accounting and administration. Working with Mr. Spickelmier, he is also currently the Vice President, Controller, Secretary & Treasurer for Sintana Energy Inc., a Colombia focused exploration and production company. Prior to joining Sintana, he worked as a Director, VP and Chief Financial Officer for Irvine Energy USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of a UK public company. At Westside Energy, working with Mr. Spickelmier, he was a VP and Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Secretary and Treasurer. For more than two decades, Mr. Austin was employed by HESS and held senior management positions in New York, London and Houston. From 1995 to 1999, he was Vice President and Corporate Controller and subsequently was Vice President - Worldwide Exploration & Production Finance and Administration. He holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame and a MBA from the Amos Tuck School, Dartmouth College.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Management Team
- CFO, COO, President & Director
Mr. Begley has more than 30 years of energy industry and finance experience, and began his career with British Petroleum (BP). He has also held senior positions in energy banking including Solomon, Inc. and was recently President of Stone & Webster Management Consulting, specializing in the design and development of major energy projects. As a leading energy advisor in Australia, Mr. Begley was instrumental in the development of the liberalized natural gas markets in Australia and Victoria specifically, with Gas & Fuel Victoria, and in the development of VENcorp, the natural gas trading and scheduling exchange in Australia. Mr. Begley also has a strong background in leading major capital energy projects including LNG, Methanol, and related petro-chemical and gas monetization projects, which will complement ongoing Company initiatives. In addition, he has also been involved in over $100 billion in energy related mergers and acquisitions, initially with Solomon, Inc. and more recently on an independent basis through WEB Gruppe GmbH. Mr. Begley recently served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for Magellan Petroleum Corporation, whose international operations included Australia.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Management Team
- Certified Petroleum Geologist
- Exploration Manager
Mr. Leel is a Certified Petroleum Geologist with experience in domestic and international exploration and production. He has held senior positions (VP Exploration, senior geologist) at leading companies such as Amerada Hess, Triton Energy and Getty Oil and several other independent companies. He is a proven manager with the capability of blending state-of-the-art exploration techniques with traditional methods of oil and gas exploration and development.