Executive 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.

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.

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.

Julie Ray

Vice President of Treasury

Ms. Ray has over 15 years of experience in the energy industry, working primarily for publicly traded companies, in various management, finance, and accounting positions. Prior to joining Vaalco, she served as a Financial Reporting and Advisory Director for Sirius Solutions, LLLP, for nearly 13 years. Major clients served included Ethos Offshore, Republic Services, Noble Corporation, Willbros Oil and Gas, JP Morgan/Bear Stearns, and GDF Suez – North America. Many of her clients have both domestic and international operations. From 2004-2007, Ms. Ray served as the Controller for Sirius Solutions. Ms. Ray began her career working for Ernst & Young, LLP in the Assurance and Advisory Services group.

Ms. Ray holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Masters of Professional Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and is a certified public accountant in the State of Texas.

Lynn Willis

Interim Chief Accounting Officer and Controller

Ms. Willis has served as the Company’s Interim Chief Accounting Officer and Controller since April 10, 2024. She has over 30 years of diversified accounting and finance experience in the oil and gas industry, including with international companies and emerging companies, as well as public accounting experience.

Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Willis served as an independent consultant from April 2020 to October 2023 providing accounting and financial reporting assistance to a variety of energy companies. From 2003 to 2020, Ms. Willis held numerous roles with Aspire Holdings, LLC (formerly Endeavour International Corporation), including Vice President and Controller from 2014 to 2020, Controller from 2013 to 2014, and other finance and accounting roles from 2003 to 2013. Prior to joining Aspire Holdings, LLC, Ms. Willis served in various accounting, finance and budgeting roles at Devon Energy, Inc. (formerly Ocean Energy, Inc.) from 1994 to 2003. From 1993 to 1994, Ms. Willis served as a Financial Analyst for American Oil and Gas Corporation. Ms. Willis began her career in public accounting with Arthur Andersen & Co., an international audit and business strategy consulting firm, where she rose to the title of Audit Senior.

Ms. Willis is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas. Ms. Willis attended Rice University where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management Studies and a Master’s Degree of Accounting.