ReconAfrica is led by a team of directors and officers with extensive experience with African resource exploration and development.

Craig Steinke

EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

Mr. Steinke, the founder of ReconAfrica, has played a pivotal role since inception in the development of ReconAfrica through his private energy consulting practice. Mr. Steinke has over 25 years of experience in identifying, successfully developing and financing oil and natural gas exploration and production projects in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Additionally, through his privately held company, Mr. Steinke plays an active role leading a diversified team, in generating new sources and technologies for sustainable energy.

Mark Gerlitz

LEAD DIRECTOR

Mark Gerlitz is the Principal of Canadian-based MonteLago Consulting which provides advisory services to the International Energy Industry. Mr. Gerlitz has over 20 years’ experience advising States, national energy companies and international energy companies across the entire energy value chain. His expertise comprises numerous important areas, including: financing, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships, farm-ins and other business combinations, energy marketing sales, as well as environmental, social and governance matters. His experience spans most of the resource-rich regions and major financial centres around the globe. Mr. Gerlitz is an active member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.

Mr. Gerlitz has served on or worked with boards of directors and committees of public and private companies in various industries in several capital markets. He has advised special committees on hostile and friendly business combinations, including multi-billion-dollar international energy transactions. Mr. Gerlitz’ committee work includes: audit, human resources, compensation, governance, nomination and special committees.

Dr. Joseph R. Davis

DIRECTOR

Dr. Joseph R. Davis has 40 years of experience as an oil and gas geologist focused on reserve estimation and understanding exploration risk. Dating back to 2013, Dr. Davis led the technical team in the discovery of the Kavango basin. In 2015 Dr. Davis was a founding partner of a private US based natural gas company, focused on sustainable natural gas production, achieving natural gas production of over 800 mmcf/day. Dr. Davis has a PhD in Geology from the University of Texas and serves as Secretary of the Trustee Associates of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Foundation. He also serves on the AAPG’s Sustainable Development Committee, which provides industry leadership in technology and training for meeting United Nations sustainable development goals, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting ground and surface water supplies, and defining the reservoirs necessary for carbon storage and sequestration.

Iman Hill

DIRECTOR

Iman Hill is a Petroleum Engineer with over 30 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry with extensive global expertise in the technical and commercial aspects of the petroleum business, in particular field development, capital projects and production operations. She also serves as Chair of the Board of Envorem, non-executive Independent Board Director of Oil Spill Response Ltd. (OSRL) and United Oil and Gas.

Iman’s experience has been gained in North and West Africa, the Middle East, South America, the Far East, and the North Sea in a number of diverse settings from onshore to ultra-deep water with companies that include BP, Shell, BG Group, Dana Gas and Sasol where she was responsible for the Company’s African Upstream unit.

Most recently, Iman Hill was the CEO of the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP), accountable for driving performance improvement in the industry in Safety, Engineering, Environmental management, including Oceans’ health, as well as supporting and enabling the industry to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions and accelerate plans for decarbonisation and carbon sequestration. She is a champion of sustainability to align business objectives with meeting the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Brian Reinsborough

President & Chief Executive Officer

A visionary executive with an exceptional record of strategic, leadership, and management successes. An industry pioneer whose passion and focused drive inspires companies and individuals to deliver excellence. Brian has an outstanding track record and brings 35 years of successful oil and gas exploration and production experience including over 25 years in deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Having worked globally for Mobil Oil, Nexen, Warburg Pincus as an Executive-In-Residence and Venari Resources, Brian has discovered over 2.4 billion of barrels of oil equivalent over the course of his career in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. During his career he has been involved with some of the largest discoveries in the history of the Gulf of Mexico including Appomattox, Anchor, and Shenandoah. He has developed initial business plans and executed two Deepwater businesses into industry-recognized programs, and has drilled 36 Deepwater wells in all play types in the GoM, resulting in a 50% success rate.

Brian has significant experience in attracting financing and talent for exploration-based businesses having raised over $2.4 billion of private equity financing in his previous company.

Brian completed the Program for Management Development from Harvard Business School, a Master of Arts in Geology from University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Mount Allison University, Canada. Brian was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Energy in the US in 2014 and currently serves on the Advisory Board of University of Texas, Jackson School of Geosciences.

Carlos Escribano

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Carlos Escribano was appointed CFO of ReconAfrica in January 2020 and has over 14 years’ experience in senior level financial management. He has served as CFO for publicly traded multi-national corporations in the resource sector, including leadership roles with Vancouver-based precious metals producers operating in Latin America. He has demonstrated ability in successfully managing key aspects of finance, accounting and administration, including debt and equity financing, financial reporting and compliance, budgeting and treasury.

Mr. Escribano is a Chartered Professional Accountant and graduate of the University of British Columbia.

Deniz Kuban

CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER

Ms. Kuban is a lawyer with twenty years of international legal experience in compliance and oil and gas projects in ten countries. She has served in legal and compliance roles for international publicly listed companies and advised international oil companies and state oil companies throughout her career. She is a Partner and Head of London office of Park Energy Law since February 2015. Prior to that, she was Head of Legal and Head of Compliance Programs with Genel Energy in London UK and Ankara Turkey from October 2009.

Adam Rubin

GENERAL COUNSEL

Adam brings over 25 years of legal, commercial, strategic and executive experience in the oil and gas industry. He has provided insight and advice to public CEOs, Board Chairs and executive management teams. He has significant experience negotiating successful complex, high-profile, multi-party corporate, financial and international transactions. Adam has represented both public and private companies in a broad range of capacities, including formation, venture capital, financings, initial public offerings, corporate contests, international transactions, and Canadian and U.S. reporting requirements.

He began his career at a national Canadian law firm and has been Assistant General Counsel at Nexen Inc., and General Counsel at Venari Resources as well as a Blackstone portfolio company.

Adam earned his undergraduate degree in economics from McGill University, his MBA in finance from the University of Ottawa and his JD from the University of Calgary. He completed the Executive Leadership Development Program at Harvard Business School and is a member of the Law Society of Alberta.

Nick Steinsberger

SVP, DRILLING & COMPLETIONS

Nick Steinsberger brings 32 years’ experience in petroleum engineering, drilling and completions, production, and surface facilities to ReconAfrica.  Nick began his career with Mitchell Energy in 1988 after graduating from the University of Texas with a BS in Petroleum Engineering.

While with Mitchell Energy, Nick was promoted to Completion Manager for the Barnett Fields(Texas) in 1995 and was responsible for completing the first 25 horizontal wells ever drilled and completed in the play, transforming it into ultimately one of the largest gas fields in the USA reaching peak production of 5.75 Billion Cubic Feet per day in 2012. Based on its success in the Barnett, Mitchell Energy was sold to Devon Energy for $3.1 Billion in 2002.

In July 2003, Nick began Steinsberger Gas Consulting and is considered a world leader in completions and well design, and has supervised over 1,500 well programs in North American source rock and conventional plays.

Diana McQueen

SVP, Corporate Communications and Stakeholder Relations

Senior Policy advisor and business development manager in the fields of Energy, Environment, Regulatory, Indigenous Relations and Municipal Issues.

Highly experienced in governmental affairs having held various Alberta provincial cabinet roles including Minister of Energy, Minister of Environment & Water, Minister of Environment & Sustainable Resource Development/Forestry and Climate Change, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Government House leader, and member of numerous committees such as Treasury Board, and Agenda & Priorities.

Extensive energy and environmental public policy experience at regional, provincial and international levels.

Michelle Borthwick

CORPORATE SECRETARY

Ms. Borthwick is a corporate finance and governance professional with over 25 years of diverse senior-level experience with public and private corporations operating in the mining, technology, and life sciences/alternative health industries. She has extensive experience in the areas equity and debt financings, domestic and cross-border M&A and general corporate and commercial transactions. Additionally, she is well versed in all areas of public company governance and administration and has held CFO and Corporate Secretary roles for multi-listed public and private corporations.

Prior to founding her own consulting firm in 2017, she was Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Corporate Secretary of TSX-listed Endeavour Mining Corporation where she had key roles managing and facilitating various corporate and financial transactions and compliance. Prior to Endeavour Mining, she was VP Corporate Finance of its predecessor financial advisory company, Endeavour Financial Corporation.