Stephen Whyte

Chairman and Non-Executive Director

Stephen Whyte is a seasoned FTSE and AIM Chairman and Non-Executive Director in the global energy sector with direct experience in Kazakhstan. Stephen was previously Chairman at Genel Energy and Sound Energy and a Non-Executive Director at Echo Energy and JSC National Company KazMunaiGas. Stephen was appointed as a Board observer to the Company on behalf of the noteholders during the Restructuring. Stephen is also an Independent Non-Executive Director at Beacon Energy.

Viktor Gladun

Chief Executive Officer

Mr Gladun is a business manager with extensive experience in the energy sector. Viktor was the CEO and executive director on the board of directors of JKX Oil and Gas plc, a UK-headquartered hydrocarbon exploration company, from 2019 through 2022, after having served as Acting CEO of JKX during 2017-2018. Viktor also served as the CEO of JKX’s Ukrainian subsidiary Poltava Petroleum Company JV from 2016-2022. Prior to that he held executive financial roles at DTEK & NIKO, a senior auditor position at TNK-BP and a tax consultant position at Arthur Andersen.

Fiona Paulus

Independent Non-Executive Director

Fiona Paulus has 45 years of investment banking experience.  She held senior roles at leading investment banks. These include the Head of Private Equity & Infrastructure Funds at Royal Bank of Scotland; Global Head of Energy & Resources at ABN AMRO Bank; Head of International Investment Banking at CIBC; and senior leadership roles at Credit Suisse, Societe Generale, JP Morgan, & Citigroup, in the UK, USA, EMEA, Australia and Latin America.

Fiona is a Senior Advisor at Gleacher Shacklock LLP, a leading, UK based, M&A boutique.  In addition, she is a Non-Executive Director of JSW Steel Ltd, the largest and fastest growing steel company in India with a market cap of $25bn; Metlen Energy & Metals, a FTSE 100 company, with a market cap of £6.5 bn, operating in the global industrial and energy sectors; Nostrum Oil & Gas plc, UK listed, and operating in Kazakhstan; and ACG Acquisition Company Ltd, the first UK listed, special purpose, acquisition company, building a global portfolio in battery metals businesses, with operations in Turkey.  Having served the statutory term of 6 years, Fiona recently resigned from the board of the Interpipe Group, a private industrial group incorporated in Cyprus. Its steel operations in Ukraine serve the worldwide energy and infrastructure sectors.

Martin Gudgeon

Non-Executive Director

Martin Gudgeon is a Partner and Chairman of the EMEA & Asia Restructuring and Special Situations Group (“RSSG”) at PJT Partners, based in London. Mr. Gudgeon is also a member of the firm’s RSSG Operating Committee. Prior to joining PJT Partners, Mr. Gudgeon worked at Blackstone for eight years, serving as a Senior Managing Director. Previously, Mr. Gudgeon was the Chief Executive and Head of Restructuring at Close Brothers. Martin was previously a Non-Executive Director at Genel Energy.

Nikolay Ivin

Non-Executive Director

Mr Ivin has broad expertise in corporate finance and management and is the Managing Partner of Ziff-Ivin Associates Ltd, a corporate finance advisory and management consulting services firm. Mr Ivin’s prior professional experience includes roles at Houlihan Lokey (Europe), Citigroup EMEA and GE Capital (USA). Since 2021, Mr Ivin has also been serving as an independent supervisory board member of DTEK Energy B.V., a vertically integrated coal mining and power generating group in Ukraine.