Monday, August 30, 2010

Canadian CFOs on the Move – week ended August 27, 2010

Anvil Mining Limited (TSX, ASX: AVM) announced the appointment of Philippe Monier as its Vice President Corporate and Chief Financial Officer, effective October 1, 2010. Philippe will succeed Lui Evangelista who has been Acting CFO since the retirement of Craig Munro earlier this year. Philippe's previous CFO positions include Bateman Engineering, Dynatec and BHPBilliton Base Metals. Prior to this, Philippe's experience includes nine years with Lehman Brothers Energy Group, finishing as Senior Vice President of the oil services franchise.

3P International Energy Corp. (TSX-V: DOH) announced the appointment of Wally Rudensky as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Rudensky is President of DFF Management Inc., a private company providing financial management and governance services to Canadian and U.S. listed companies.

AM Gold Inc. (TSX-V: AMG, FRANKFURT: AMX) announced the appointment of Mark Lawson to the position of Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Lawson joined AM Gold's Board of Directors on June 21, 2010. Mr. Lawson worked as an investment banker with Morgan Stanley in New York from 2005 until 2008 where he was involved in the execution of over $6 billion worth of mergers and acquisitions, $8 billion worth of debt offerings and $500 million of equity financings. Mr. Lawson was previously a Director of a boutique corporate finance firm in Toronto, Canada.

Cordy Oilfield Services Inc. (TSX-V: CKK) announced that Matt Braaten has been appointed Cordy's Interim, Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Braaten, who joined Cordy in April, is a designated Chartered Accountant.

Great Canadian Gaming Corporation (TSX: GC) announced that Milton C. Woensdregt has resigned as Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective August 19, 2010. Kiran Rao, currently the Company's Vice President of Corporate Finance and Controller, has been appointed as Interim Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Rao, an employee of the Company since 2006, is a Chartered Accountant who possesses more than a decade of both domestic and international experience in corporate finance and accounting.

Maestro Ventures Ltd. (TSX-V: MAP) announced the resignation of Mark Achtemichuk, its CFO. He is being replaced by the Company's former CFO, Ronnie Doman.

If you have news about CFOs on the move, or any comments on this feature, please email us.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Canadian CFOs on the Move – week ended August 20, 2010

Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. (TSX: QUX) announced the appointment of Robert (“Don”) MacDonald as Chief Financial Officer of the company. Mr. MacDonald takes over from Mr. Stuart McDonald, the former Chief Financial Officer of Quadra and the interim Chief Financial Officer of Quadra FNX. Don was most recently the Chief Financial Officer of NovaGold Resources Inc. (2003-2010) a company with two large development properties. Prior to NovaGold, Don was the Chief Financial Officer for a public biotech company (2001-2003), De Beers Canada Mining (formerly Winspear Diamonds) (1999-2001) and Dayton Mining (1991-1999) and Vice-President Finance of Granges Inc (1983-1991).

BIOREM Inc. (TSX-V:BRM) announced that Edward Corbett, Chief Financial Officer, has left the Company.

Degama Software Solutions, Inc. (Pink Sheets:DGMA) announced the appointment of Terry Rodrigues as Chief Financial Officer. Previously, Mr. Rodrigues gained extensive expertise in real estate financing and management with companies such as Lehndorff Property Management and Royal Le Page, a leading Canadian real estate company. Mr. Rodrigues served as controller, treasurer and held a variety of financial positions within Lehndorff and Royal Le Page.

Charter Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX-V: CRH.UN) announced the appointment of Dionne Barnes as Chief Financial Officer, replacing Floriana Cipollone. As well as serving as Chief Financial Officer of Charter REIT, Dionne Barnes is also the Vice President of Finance for the real estate operations of League Assets Corp. Prior to joining League, Ms. Barnes worked in a variety of industries including oil and gas with ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy Corporation; electrical energy supply and renewable energy development with ENMAX Corporation; and real estate development and construction with Carma Developers LP, a subsidiary of Brookfield Properties. Ms. Barnes was also a senior manager at Deloitte & Touche in its Calgary office.

Plazacorp Retail Properties Ltd. (TSX-V: PLZ) announced the appointement of Florianna Cipollone as CFO. Ms. Cipollone has 20 years of business experience most recently as Chief Financial Officer for Charter REIT. Previously, Ms Cipollone held the positions of Vice President, Corporate Planning & Strategy at O&Y Properties Corporation and Vice President, Finance at O&Y Real Estate Investment Trust.

Continental Gold Ltd. (TSX: CNL) announced the appointment of Keith McKay as CFO. Previously, Mr. McKay has served as Vice President and CFO for Aurelian Resources Inc. and Senior Vice President Financial Operations for an international engineering and project management services firm and as Controller at Rio Algom Ltd., a Canadian based mining company that produced copper, gold, uranium, molybdenum, and coal in North and South America. Mr. McKay has also served as Vice President, Finance for Potash Company of Canada and has worked with the Bank of Montreal. In addition to his role as CFO of Continental gold, Mr. McKay also serves as the CFO of Dalradian Resources Limited and is the CFO for Andina Minerals Inc. until September 30, 2010.

Windstorm Resources Inc. (TSX-V: WSR) announced the appointment of Rodson Zulueta to the position of Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary, replacing Mr. Michael Clark. Mr. Zulueta is currently the Controller of Grosso Group Management Ltd., overseeing the financial reporting, treasury function, control processes, and regulatory compliance of its publicly listed member companies. Prior to joining Grosso Group, Mr. Zulueta was Controller of Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. as it developed and brought into production the Molejon Gold Mine in Panama. Mr. Zulueta also previously worked with the public accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP.,

If you have news about CFOs on the move, or any comments on this feature, please email us.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Canadian CFOs on the Move – week ended August 13, 2010

Equal Energy Ltd. (TSX: EQU) announced that Blaine Boerchers, Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, has tendered his resignation. Mr. Boerchers has also commenced an action against the Company in relation to a dispute as to the level of his security-based compensation.

International Datacasting Corporation, (TSX: IDC) announced the promotion of Cory Garbolinsky to Vice President, Finance and Acting Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. Mr. Garbolinsky was previously Director of Finance at IDC responsible for external financial reporting and internal controls. Previously he served as Manager of General Accounting for North America at Alcatel-Lucent (ENXTPA: ALU) and as Chief Financial Officer at CCS Group Ltd.

ICN Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ICN) announced the appointments of Denise Lok as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. The appointment follows the resignation of Tom Wilson as Chief Financial Officer and Gordon Fretwell as Corporate Secretary. Lok is currently Manager, Corporate Finance of Baron Global Financial Canada Ltd. Previously, she was a professional accountant with an international accounting firm.

ACE Canada, the Canadian-based operating division of the ACE Group, announced the appointment of Bruce Walker as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Walker's joins ACE from a directorship with a privately-held financial consultancy firm in the United States. Prior to this role, Mr. Walker held a variety of senior financial leadership positions within Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group.

TouchTunes Interactive Networks has announced the appointment of Patrick Barry as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the company. Prior to joining TouchTunes, Barry was CFO of Oberon Media.com, a casual games solutions company, and DSR Holdings, a restaurant holdings company. Barry was one of the founding members at Bluefly.com (NASDAQ BFLY), where he spent 10 years growing the business to $95 million in revenues. Barry also served as CFO and COO of Audible Inc. and CFO of Warner Music Enterprises. His extensive background in finance included work at Book-of-the-Month Club, Time Warner and Arthur Andersen LLP.

Petromanas Energy Inc. (TSX-V: PMI) announced that Bill G. Cummins has been appointed as CFO effective September 1, 2010. Ari Muljana will resign as CFO effective August 31, 2010. Mr. Cummins international background has spanned 12 years, including nearly three years as CFO of a TSX listed oil and gas company with operations in Yemen, and seven years as a senior financial executive of an international joint venture which grew to over 75,000 bopd.

Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc. (OTCBB: PPSI) announced the appointment of Andrew Minkow as its Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer effective immediately. Mr. Minkow was also appointed to our Board of Directors. Mr. Minkow was previously the President of MAST Consulting, a provider of executive management, strategic planning and financial reporting services to several corporate clients, including to Pioneer. From 2001 to 2009, Mr. Minkow was a founding employee and shareholder of Morgan Joseph & Co. Inc., where he successfully executed over $2 billion in investment banking transactions and provided leadership in business development and operational management, aiding the firm in its rapid growth during his eight year tenure.

Partner Jet Corp. (TSX-V: PJT) announced that Mike Casey has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Company, replacing Bruce Reilly.

Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. (TSX: PBG) announced that Peter Cheung was appointed as CFO, replacing Corey Ruttan. Mr. Cheung Cheung was most recently the treasurer at Compton Petroleum Corp (TSX: CMT).

TrinCan Capital Corp. (TSX-V: TRN.P) announced that Burkhard Franz has assumed the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Franz was previous the Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Ms. Savi Franz has been appointed as Interim Chief Financial Officer.

If you have news about CFOs on the move, or any comments on this feature, please email us.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Canadian CFOs on the Move – week ended August 6, 2010

ADF Group Inc. (TSX: DRX) announced the appointment of Jean-François Boursier as the Corporation' new Chief Financial Officer. Since 2005, Mr. Boursier was the Corporate Controller at Héroux-Devtek. Previously, he worked at Holcim Canada (St-Lawrence Cement) for more than 16 years, where he held different positions including the company's Corporate Controller from 2001 to 2005.

TSO3 Inc. (TSX: TOS) announced that Marc Boisjoli, its Chief Financial Officer, will be leaving the company to pursue other interests.

Marifil Mines Ltd. (TSX-V: MFM) announced that the Company’s CFO, Michael Sweatman, has resigned for personal reasons and to pursue other commitments.

Melcor Developments Ltd. (TSX: MRD) announced that Michael Shabada plans to resign from the company effective October 31, 2010. Mr. Shabada has been with the company for almost 19 years.

Rare Method Interactive Corp. (TSX-V: RAM) announced that Joshua lus has been appointed Chief Financial Officer.

RBC Dexia Investor Services announced that is has appointed John W. Thompson to the post of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Mr. Thompson comes to RBC Dexia from The CUMIS Group, a Canadian insurance company serving credit unions and their members, where he held the positions of CFO and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). Prior to this, Mr. Thompson held senior roles with CIBC, where he led the financial management and transformation of a number of major business units in the US and Asia Pacific regions. He was also responsible for the performance measurement and business operations of CIBC's largest customer-facing business unit, Retail Markets.

If you have news about CFOs on the move, or any comments on this feature, please email us.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Prediction: ERP Implementations

ERP implementations are coming back. It has been a while since ERP's have been major investments for companies. (If you don't remember the last time, Google "Y2K").

Reasons for this prediction:

- CFOs are sitting on record amounts of cash (See CFO.Com article).
- This cash needs to be put to productive use.
- CFOs are reluctant to use the cash for Hard assets (Real Estate, Plant Equipment).
- Most ERPs are at least 10 years old, and significant technology improvements have been made since, which can allow for significant value-add.

The 'IF' Factor:

If ERP Vendors and Integrators can speak the CFOs language and make the case for significant bottom line improvements, CFOs may be willing to make that investment.

For True Strategic CFOs:

If you consider a large system investment to be in your future, make the decision as soon as possible - costs (ie talent) will be more expensive once everyone else takes the decision.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Canadian CFOs on the Move – week ended July 30, 2010

Silvermet Inc. (TSX-V: SYI) announced that Jeffrey Dawley has resigned as CFO of the Company, and is being replaced by Ian Atacan. Mr. Atacan has previously held controllership roles in various public companies, including Epsilon Energy, Impax Energy Services and Consumers' Waterheater Income Fund.

Lingo Media Corporation (TSX-V: LM)(OTCBB: LMDCF) announced that Ryan Robertson has been appointed Chief Financial Officer. He succeeds Khurram Qureshi, who is stepping down after being CFO for the last 10 years. Mr. Robertson joins Lingo Media from Luxell Technologies Inc., where he was CFO for the last three years.

Canadian Orebodies Inc. (TSX-V: CO) announced that Joseph Heng has been appointed to the position of Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary for the Company. Mr. Heng replaces Mr. Gledhill, previously in the same role. For the past 10 years, Mr. Heng has been involved primarily with junior mining public companies and holds directorship, corporate secretary and CFO positions in several of the companies he is associated with.

Look Communications Inc. (TSX-V: LOK and LOK.A) announced that Mr. Jason Redman has resigned as Chief Financial Officer, and has been replaced by Grant McCutcheon, new Board Member and Acting Chief Financial Officer.

DiagnoCure, Inc. (TSX: CUR) announced the hiring of Chantal Miklosi as the new Chief Financial Officer. Mrs. Miklosi brings over 15 years experience in investment banking and finance.

UTS Energy Corporation (TSX: UTS) announced that its Board of Directors has approved the management team that will lead SilverBirch Energy Corporation ("SilverBirch"), including Wayne Bobye as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Bobye has been Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of UTS since 2005.

Adira Energy Ltd. (OTCBB: ADENF; FRANKFURT: AORLB8) announced that Gadi Levin has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Company's four Israeli operating subsidiaries.

Mullen Group Ltd. (TSX: MTL) announced the appointment of Mr. P. Stephen Clark to the position of Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Clark succeeds Mr. David E. Olson who is retiring from Mullen after 26 years of dedicated service.

GeoGlobal Resources Inc. (NYSE Amex: GGR) announced that Mr. Sunil Karkera, who was until recently the Corporate Controller, has been promoted to serve as the new CFO.

Saint John Port Authority announced that James Quinn will be replacing Al Soppitt as President and CEO. Mr. Quinn previously was CFO for the Canadian International Development Agency and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.

If you have news about CFOs on the move, or any comments on this feature, please email us.