Management & Directors
Board of Directors and Primary Management
Gary L. Billingsley, C.A., P.Eng., P.Geo. Executive Chairman
A professional engineer and geoscientist with more than 30 years' experience in the mineral industry — 24 of them in Saskatchewan — Gary Billingsley has been an officer and director of several public mining and mineral exploration companies during the past 18 years. In addition to his experience with uranium and base-metal exploration, Gary has been directly involved with putting Saskatchewan's largest gold mine into production and, on three separate occasions, has played a major role in the discovery of diamond-bearing kimberlite.
James B. Engdahl President & CEO, Director
With more than 20 years of experience in corporate finance at the executive level, Jim Engdahl has extensive expertise in financing mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations.
A former Vice President of Barclays Bank of Canada, Jim has served as President, CEO, and director of Pacific & Western Trust, President and Director of Shore Gold Inc., and Vice President of Finance and Director of Claude Resources Inc. - all public companies. More recently, Jim was the Regional Advisory Partner of the corporate finance arm of one of Western Canada's largest accounting firms. This position came as a result of the accounting firm's purchase of Cascadia Ventures Inc., a corporate financing and consulting group responsible for raising project financing in excess of $100 million of which Jim was Managing Partner.
Jim was intimately involved in financing two producing gold mines in Saskatchewan. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of Formation Capital Inc., a TSE-listed company currently bringing a cobalt/copper mine into production in the United States.
Jim's expertise in corporate finance, the global regulatory regime, and specialty metals will enable Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. to wisely manage its forward growth, as it takes its Hoidas Lake rare earth project to feasibility level, develops a market niche with Great Western Technologies Inc., and significantly advances other mineral projects.
Audrey McMillan, C.A. Chief Financial Officer
Audrey McMillan is a Chartered Accountant with a wide range of corporate experience, most notably in the oil and gas sector with two international, NYSE-listed corporations. Her most recent experience included responsibility for all aspects of financial reporting, budgeting, human resources, payroll, tax and contract administration within those those corporations. Her diversified background and experience in all aspects of corporate finance, administration, and mergers and acquisitions will be essential to our growth as we gain more attention globally.
Danielle Favreau, C.A. Corporate Controller
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Danielle earned her Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Saskatchewan and is a Chartered Accountant. Danielle earned her CA designation while articling at the public accounting firm of Deloitte and Touche LLP, where she spent six years in the assurance and advisory group serving a variety of clients mainly in the industries of mining and First Nations. Danielle has been active in a wide range of community organizations. Most recently, she served on the board for the Saskatchewan Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs.
John G. Pearson, M.Sc. Geol., P. Geo. Vice President, Exploration
An alumnus of Teck Cominco, John Pearson has had more than 30 years' experience in the mineral industry, much of it in Saskatchewan. He has run the Flin Flon, Manitoba, office of Teck Cominco and has spent several years with Cameco's predecessor, working in and around La Ronge, Saskatchewan. This background has provided John with considerable expertise in Saskatchewan Precambrian mineral deposits and their genesis, an asset that is invaluable to the Company as it develops and sustains reserves on various projects.
Richard O. Hogan, M.Sc. Eng. Vice President, Operations
Richard Hogan brings more than 25 years of varied mining industry experience to Great Western Minerals Group, ranging from research to senior management. He has gained operational experience in a variety of mines throughout North America, including serving as chief engineer, mine superintendent, and mine manager in remote northern Canadian mines. Richard has also experienced the challenges of international operations in both South America and Papua New Guinea. Richard's technical expertise is centered around ore reserve estimation, mine design, and financial modeling of mining properties.
Baodong Zhao, Ph.D. Manager, Metallurgy
Dr. Baodong Zhao, the company's new Manager of Metallurgy, oversees all aspects of metallurgy including the development of cost effective techniques to optimize the extraction and processing of rare earth elements from the host ore. He holds a PhD in Surface and Materials Electrochemistry from Queen's University and brings to GWMG extensive knowledge of metallurgy, materials science and physical chemistry from the Chinese and North American materials industry. He has many years of experience with metallurgical processes including hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, electrometallurgy and powder metallurgy. He is a patent holder for a new technology to manufacture rare-earth metal from mixed rare-earth ore. Dr. Zhao brings to GWMG the background and experience we need to complement the key roles within the Company as we continue to implement our "mine-to-market" strategy.
Ron Malashewski, B.Sc. Physics, B.Sc. Engineering Manager, Investor Relations
Ron Malashewski's professional career spans over 25 years in a technical, corporate, and investment finance environment. Ron is an experienced, senior Manager with well-developed skills in Corporate Communications, Marketing, Strategic Planning and Operations Management.
Most recently, as President of Cliff Lake Capital Limited, Ron advised clients on matters of Strategic Planning, Corporate Finance, and Investor Relations. For several years, Ron served clients as an Investment Advisor in Calgary with two major Canadian Investment Firms. Prior to entering the investment industry, Ron held Senior Engineering roles with a major Canadian municipal electric utility, and was involved with many aspects of Project Management, Operations, Maintenance and Personnel Management.
During his professional career, Ron has developed many industry relationships with technical experts, investors, portfolio managers and investment finance professionals.
In addition to holding memberships with industry and professional organizations, Ron holds an Ontario Prospectors License and is Member of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).
Gordon G. Dent Manager, Corporate Communications
Gordon Dent comes to Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. from a Saskatoon-based air charter company, where he held the position of Marketing Coordinator. Holding a Transport Canada Pilot License, Gord has a multi-faceted background in various mineral exploration activities that includes Northern Saskatchewan, Mexico, and the Arctic. Gord is enthusiastic about ensuring Saskatchewan's prominence in world mining and establishing recognition for this province's world-class deposits.
C. Reid McDonald, M.Sc. GIS & Remote Sensing
Mr. McDonald joined the GWMG team in November 2006 after completing an M.Sc. in Engineering Physics. With a strong analytical and mathematical background, Mr. McDonald is able to fill a variety of roles within the company, mainly focusing on Geographic Information Systems and various forms of data analysis (geophysical, remote sensing, XRF data, etc.). Reid is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan and is working towards certification as a P.Eng. His future plans include working with the company towards completing an M.Eng. in Mining Engineering, which will augment his technical background with industry-specific knowledge.
David Kennedy, C.Eng., MIMMM Director
David Kennedy founded Less Common Metals Ltd. (LCM) in 1992 and held the position of President of LCM until his appointment as Managing Director, Metals and Alloys. He has worked with rare-earth materials since 1976 and has published several papers on the technology and economics of rare earth alloy production. Some of his previous experience includes working as Technical Manager at Johnson Matthey Rare Earth Products.
David is a graduate in Metallurgy and a Chartered Engineer; he is also a Professional Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. David has held the positions of Chairman of the Liverpool Metallurgical Society and President of the Birmingham University Metallurgical Society.
Robert Quinn, B.Sc., M.Sc., J.D. Director
Mr. Quinn is a graduate of the University of Denver, College of Law and completed two years of graduate work in Mineral Economics at the Colorado School of Mines. A founding partner of the Houston law firm Quinn & Brooks, LLP, he has over 23 years legal and management experience, having served as Vice-President and General Counsel for Battle Mountain Gold and attorney for Hecla Mining. He also has extensive experience in M&A transactions, corporate governance, public disclosure, governmental affairs, environmental and land management. Mr. Quinn is presently a director of a number of public mining companies.
Walter Benecki, B.Sc., M.Sc., MBA Director
Walter Benecki is currently a consultant to the magnetics industry and has previously served as President of the Magnetic Materials Producers Association (now the International Magnetics Association). A graduate of Pennsylvania State University with an MSc in Ceramic Engineering, Mr. Benecki was initially a Development Engineer with RCA, then spent many years in various positions with Carborundum, General Electric, and Arnold Engineering (a US-based magnetic materials and components company), where he was appointed President in 1989. During his tenure, Mr. Benecki grew the company from $50 million to $140 million in annual sales. Much of Mr. Benecki's experience has been in working with technologies that rely on the rare earth elements to function, and he is intimately familiar with the types of value-added rare earth products that are critical to those technologies. GWMG is extremely fortunate to have someone with Mr. Benecki's experience and capability to assist in identifying key markets and specific rare earth minerals for those markets.
Rupert Allan, P.Geol. Director
Rupert joins the Board with thirty-eight years of technical and management experience in Canada and globally with junior mining and exploration companies engaged in search and development of base and precious metals, diamonds, and uranium. Currently he is the President and CEO of Skeena Resources Limited, which is active with gold exploration projects in Canada and in Latin America. His experience is enhanced by directorships with many Canadian and international mineral exploration companies and consulting firms.
Mr. Allan is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta, and a member of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.
Ian McNaughton, FICB Director
Ian McNaughton's successful career spans more than three and a half decades with TD Bank, one of Canada's largest banking and financial institutions where he achieved the level of Vice President and Manager Commercial Banking. He retired in October 2004 as Manager, Commercial Banking in Saskatoon.
Mr. McNaughton's experience also includes many years in Management, Commercial and Corporate Banking, primarily across Western Canada, focusing on a wide range of sectors including real estate, manufacturing, agriculture, and the service sector.
After completing studies at University of Alberta, University of Calgary, and University of British Columbia, Mr. McNaughton received the designation of Fellow, Institute of Canadian Bankers, in 1988. Mr. McNaughton remains active in the business community and is the Vice President and a Director of The Saskatoon Club.
Technical Advisory Committee
Jeff Austin, P.Eng.
Jeff Austin is a graduate of the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Mineral Process Engineering. He is a metallurgist with extensive laboratory research and full-scale operational experience, and has been Chairman of the Canadian Mineral Processors (a technical division of The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum). Mr. Austin is currently President of International Metallurgical and Environmental Inc. and Western Canada Limestone Ltd. He will continue to contribute in-house expertise by monitoring all metallurgical work carried out on Company projects at independent laboratories.
Paul A. Cartwright, P.Geo. Geophysics
Mr. Cartwright, President of Pacific Geophysical Ltd., has 33 years' experience as a geophysicist working for, and consulting to, many well-known mining and oil-and-gas companies. He has extensive international experience with using geophysical methods to locate base metals, precious metals, and diamonds. His expertise was key in the discovery of several diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes in Saskatchewan.
Edward A. Schiller, Ph.D., P.Geol. Geology
Dr. Schiller is a consulting geologist with more than 40 years' experience, worldwide, in the mineral industry. Specializing in gemstones, Dr. Schiller has lived and worked in Canada, the US, England, Australia, Brazil, and Columbia. He has also supervised mineral exploration programs in many other countries in Central and South America, Africa, and southeast Asia.
In particular, Dr. Schiller previously served as a director and consultant to Dia Met Minerals Ltd., where he supervised the drilling of the first diamond-bearing kimberlite in Canada's Northwest Territories, at Pointe Lake. Since then, he has been directly involved in several other Canadian diamond projects.
In his role as consultant, author, and researcher, Dr. Schiller has investigated rare earth occurrences in California, Quebec, Western Australia, Brazil, and NWT in Canada.
Because of his background in rare earth exploration, Ed is uniquely qualified to assist the Company in the further development of its Hoidas Lake and Deep Sands Utah projects.
Harvey Lawson, B.Sc. Econ, MBA
Harvey Lawson BSc.Econ., MBA has been an officer and director of several junior public companies in the resource and oil and gas exploration and mining sectors. He provides administrative, accounting and financial consulting services to these companies and is familiar with the compliance and regulatory requirements of such companies. Mr. Lawson has held a securities licence and has taught both graduate and post graduate courses in Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada.