John Hick
Non- Executive Chairman
In addition to acting as President of John W. W. Hick Consultants Inc., since 1997, Mr. Hick serves as an independent director, and in some cases the non-executive Chairman, of a number of listed companies, most of which are in the mining sector. He has also held senior management and/or director positions in numerous publicly listed companies, again mainly in the mining sector. Mr. Hick currently serves as a director of Algold Resources Ltd., Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Ltd., Eurotin Inc., LSC Lithium Corp., Quebec Precious Minerals Corp., Samco Gold Ltd. and Sphinx Resources Ltd. Mr. Hick holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto, an LL.B from the University of Ottawa and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1978.
Rael Lipson
Director
Dr. Lipson has more than 40 years of global experience in the mining industry. A graduate of the University of Witwatersrand, he earned his PhD from the University of Cape Town. Dr. Lipson was Chief Geologist for Gold Fields Exploration, Inc. (Gold Fields), a part of Gold Fields Ltd., and recently left the organization after 36 years. Gold Fields is one of the world's leading gold producers, with nine operating mines in Australia, Ghana, Peru, and South Africa. Dr. Lipson strengthened the Company's competitive position by assessing the geological potential of gold projects around the world. Guiding the strategic direction for exploration investments, he targeted projects ranging from greenfields to producing mines through joint-venture opportunities or acquisitions. Additionally, he pioneered the development of the knowledge-based software solution, Global Business Area Rating System (GBAR), to identify the most gold-prospective areas on the globe based on geological criteria, but balanced by sovereign risk.
A natural leader, Dr. Lipson strongly believes in coaching and mentoring the next generation of Earth Scientists. An active member of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) since 1992, he mentors in economic geology.
Akiba Leisman
CEO (Director)
Akiba Leisman serves as the CEO and a Director of Mako Mining Corp. Previously, Akiba was Executive Chairman and Interim CEO of Marlin Gold Mining Ltd., leading the company through the spinout of Sailfish Royalty Corp. and the acquisition of Marlin by Golden Reign Resources Ltd. to form Mako. He also serves as the Executive Chairman and a Director of Sailfish, a Director at Bonterra Resources Inc. and as a consultant at Wexford Capital LP. Prior to Wexford, he was a Senior Analyst at Red Kite Capital Management for the Mine Finance funds where he was responsible for senior secured investments on metal mining assets. Previously, he was an Associate at Standard Bank working in the Structured Commodity Products and Mine Finance groups. Akiba has an MBA from New York University, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
John Stevens
Director
John Stevens is a retired Managing Director of J.P.Morgan Chase and its predecessor institutions. During a thirty year career he held various senior positions, including Group Credit Officer for Latin America and Head of Latin American Workout Restructurings. He also served as Head of Latin America Debt/Equities, as Senior Credit Officer in the Banking and Corporate Division, as Representative in Venezuela, as Deputy Representative in Mexico, and as Desk Officer for Central America. Since retirement he has served on several corporate boards, primarily in Latin American restructuring situations. Mr. Stevens holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from Trinity College, Hartford, CT.
Mario Caron
Director
Mr. Mario Caron is a mining executive with over 40 years of wide-ranging experience in the mining industry in senior executive and board positions. He has international experience in both underground and open pit operations.
Mr. Caron is currently Chairman of Alloycorp Mining Inc., a private company which is advancing a molybdenum deposit in British Columbia; acting CEO and a director of New Millenium Iron Corp.; the lead director of Falco Resources Ltd.; and a director of Quebec Precious Metals Corporation.
From November 2011 to July 2013, he served as Chief Executive Officer and a director of Aldridge Minerals Inc., developing a polymetallic Volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit in Turkey. Previously, Mr. Caron served as Chief Executive Officer and a director of Axmin Inc., a company with a gold project in Central African Republic, and Tiberon Minerals Ltd., a developer of a tungsten/fluorspar mine in Vietnam.
Mr. Caron is a member of the Québec Order of Engineers and the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario.
John Pontius
Director
John Pontius is a Director at Capital Alignment Partners, a credit focused private equity firm based in Nashville, TN. Mr. Pontius has over fifteen years experience in lower and middle market private equity with a history of taking short term leadership positions inside portfolio companies. Immediately prior to joining Capital Alignment Partners, Mr. Pontius was the Interim CEO of Predator Drilling Inc., a former Wexford Capital LP portfolio company. From 2004 until early 2017, he served in various investment roles and leadership positions at Wexford or their portfolio companies. After Wexford, Mr. Pontius was a Managing Director at Ruton Capital LLC, a New York based private equity firm with $1 billion of designated capital from its Chinese parent. He has extensive experience with roll-ups, business integrations, taking companies public, and turnaround situations as well as leading management teams in a Board capacity. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Paul Jacobi
Director
Paul joined Wexford in 1996 and focuses on Wexford’s private equity energy investments. From 1995-96, Paul worked for Moody’s Investors Services as an analyst covering the investment banking and asset management industries. From 1993-95, he was employed by Kidder Peabody & Co. as a senior financial analyst in the investment banking group. From 1988-93, Paul worked for KPMG Peat Marwick as an audit manager in the financial services practice. He holds a BS in accounting from Villanova University and is a Certified Public Accountant.