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.
Scot Evans
CEO
Scot Evans is an energy industry leader with a combined 35 years of experience with Exxon, Landmark Graphics and Halliburton. In his last position, Mr. Evans served as Vice President of Halliburton’s Integrated Asset Management and Technical Consulting organizations, where he grew production from 20K to over 100K barrels of oil equivalent per day, creating the equivalent of a Mid-Cap upstream oil company.
Mr. Evans’ experience in the US extends to the Delaware, Midland, Eagle Ford and Monterey plays, and internationally in Algeria, Kuwait, India, Russia, Ecuador and Mexico. He is an expert in new resource development.
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 Kubano
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.
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.