Leadership Team

George Maxwell

Chief Executive Officer and Director

George Maxwell joined the Board in June 2020. Mr. Maxwell has over 25 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, including in both the producing and service/manufacturing arenas. Mr. Maxwell founded Eland Oil & Gas Plc. in 2009 and served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer from September 2014 to December 2019, Chief Financial Officer from 2010 to 2014, and as a member of the board of directors from 2009 to 2019, until the company was acquired by Seplat Petroleum Development Company Pls. on December 17, 2019. Prior to founding Eland Oil & Gas Plc., Mr. Maxwell served as the business development manager for Addax Petroleum and, prior to this, commercial manager in Geneva. Mr. Maxwell joined Addax Petroleum in 2004 and held the general manager position in Nigeria, where he was responsible for finance, and fiscal and commercial activities. Prior to this, Mr. Maxwell worked with ABB Oil & Gas as vice president of finance based in the UK with responsibilities for Europe and Africa. He held a similar position in Houston, from where the organization ran its operations in ten countries. George was finance director in Singapore for Asia Pacific and Middle East, handling currency swaps and minimizing exposures during the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Mr. Maxwell graduated from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen with a Masters of Business Administration. George is a Fellow of the Energy Institute in the UK and has formerly served on the boards of directors of Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd. and Westport Oil Limited.

Mr. Maxwell’s significant experience serving in executive leadership positions and on the boards of E&P companies, as well as his experience in M&A and strong ties to the United States and European investment communities, provide invaluable insight, making him an important resource for the Board.

Thor Pruckl

Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Pruckl joined Vaalco in 2019 as Executive Vice President of International Operations, overseeing the company’s activities in West Africa.

With over 40 years of domestic and international experience, Mr. Pruckl brings extensive expertise in upstream and midstream operations across onshore and offshore environments. His career spans the full project lifecycle, from seismic exploration to drilling and production. He has also served as an expert witness in numerous arbitrations and hearings related to well-site and facility design and operations.

Mr. Pruckl began his career with Ocelot Drilling before transitioning to BP Resources Canada. He later joined Talisman Energy, where he managed sour gas assets in Northern Canada. Between 1999 and 2003, he worked in Southern Sudan before returning to Canada to oversee Talisman’s Northern Alberta assets. In 2006, he joined Nexen Energy, where he managed Blocks 51 and 14 in Yemen, including their marine terminal and offshore mooring facilities.

From 2009 to 2012, Mr. Pruckl rejoined Talisman Australasia, overseeing assets in Papua New Guinea. He was later seconded to Horizon Oil in Australia, focusing on project development and operational readiness for gas monetization projects in Papua New Guinea. Subsequently, he joined Noble Energy as Asset Development Director for Equatorial Guinea, where he played a key role in the commissioning and startup of the Alen offshore facilities. In 2014, he was promoted to Country Manager and Vice President for Noble Energy Equatorial Guinea, overseeing both onshore and offshore operations.

Mr. Pruckl completed his undergraduate work at the University of Saskatchewan and holds master’s degree from Royal Roads University, Canada. He is a long-standing member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Ronald Bain

Chief Financial Officer

Ronald Bain joined Vaalco in June 2021 as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Bain has over 25 years of oil industry experience including capital markets and statutory reporting, taxation and compliance in numerous African countries. Prior to Vaalco, Mr. Bain served as Finance Director of Boskalis Subsea Services as well as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the board of Eland Oil & Gas Plc from July 2017 until the company was acquired by Seplat Petroleum Development Plc in December 2019. Mr. Bain began his career at Vetco Gray in 1987 then moved to Donside Paper Company in January 1990 and over a period of 9 years served in the Finance Department in roles of increasing responsibility including Financial Director. From August 1999 to June 2017, Mr. Bain worked at BJ Services and Baker Hughes in a variety of Regional Accounting Directorship and Controller roles. He led the financial integration planning for Baker Hughes during the GE Oil & Gas merger.

Mr. Bain holds a Scottish Higher National Certificate in Accounting from Aberdeen College of Commerce. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1993 with the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants and is a Fellow of the Association and holds various other certifications in International Reporting and Trusteeship.

Matthew Powers

Executive Vice President and General Counsel

Matthew Powers joined Vaalco in October 2022 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Prior to Vaalco, Mr. Powers served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of ION Geophysical Corporation, a publicly traded, multinational company that provided equipment, software and services to the global energy and marine logistics industries. In his nine years at ION, Mr. Powers worked extensively on projects throughout the world, with a particular focus on Africa. Prior to ION, Mr. Powers served for several years in both transactional and litigation groups at Sidley Austin LLP, Mayer Brown LLP and Duane Morris LLP.

Mr. Powers has an A.B. in Economics from the University of Colorado, Denver and a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. Mr. Powers is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

Lisa Ruiz

VP Global Human Resources

Lisa Ruiz joined Vaalco in April 2023 as Vice President Global Human Resources. Prior to joining Vaalco, she has held various leadership roles, including Vice President of Human Resources at MetroNational, as well as Senior Vice President of Global Human Resources at ION Geophysical. Additionally, she has held Director and Senior Director roles at Global Geophysical Services and WhiteFence. Her expertise lies in strategic HR, talent acquisition and development, employee relations, change management, and performance management with a proven track record of building and leading high-performing HR teams and fostering positive work cultures.

Ruiz holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a major in Human Resources and Management from Washington State University. She is also a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).

Ed Cozens

VP Commercial & Strategic Planning

Edward Cozens joined Vaalco Energy in November 2021 as Vice President - Commercial & Strategic Planning.

He has over fifteen years of experience in the energy industry. Prior to Vaalco, he served as General Manager, Commercial at Eland Oil & Gas, a London listed, West Africa focused exploration and production company. In his seven years at Eland Oil & Gas, Mr. Cozens oversaw the commercial, economics and corporate finance teams while managing the London and Dubai offices. He played a key role in the company's growth, leading the development of assets from zero production to record gross production of over 31,000 barrels of oil per day, until the company was acquired by Seplat Petroleum Development Company in 2019. Prior to Eland Oil & Gas, Mr. Cozens worked at GDF Suez, where he was involved in commercial, economics and business development. Mr. Cozens began his career in investment banking advising E&P companies on M&A and corporate finance transactions.

Mr. Cozens holds a Bachelor's degree from Loughborough University.

Toufic Nassif

VP Corporate & Government Affairs

Toufic Nassif, a member of Vaalco’s leadership team, founded T P Nassif and Associates LLC in March 2015 as President and CEO. Prior to founding his firm, Nassif served as President and CEO of Sonde Resources Corp.

During his tenure at Sonde Resources, Nassif oversaw the day-to-day affairs of the corporation, developed long-term and short-term strategic plans provided leadership and vision, set the ethical tone for its management and formulated a fit for purpose strong organization with the right people in the right positions.

Before his role at Sonde Resources, Nassif served as President of Sonde North Africa, where he was responsible for the overall management of the company's North Africa assets, including the Joint Oil Block owned jointly by the Tunisian and Libyan Governments.

Earlier in his career, Nassif held various positions at Amoco Corporation and BP, including Director of Commercial Development for North Africa and the Middle East for Amoco Production Company, Commercial Director for BP Exploration Libya, Director of Negotiations for BP North Africa, and Deputy Country Manager and Director of Negotiations for Algeria. In these roles, he led negotiations for major projects, established country entry strategies, and managed complex commercial operations.

Nassif held in 2004-2005 the office of the President of the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN). He served for more than 10 years on the editorial board of the World Energy Law and Business Journal. He was one of the original founders and developer and remains an active member of the faculty of AIPN Negotiation Workshop.

Nassif holds a Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana State University.