
LEADERSHIP
With a proven track record of operational excellence and value creation via the drill bit, CanCambria's work philosophy centers on
opportunistic strategies, true resourcefulness, and data-driven solutions



Paul Clarke PhD
CEO, President, Director
"CanCambria’s cornerstone asset in Europe provides access to profitable markets and a strategic growth timeline. By combining advanced technology with unconventional expertise, we gain a competitive edge in the evolving energy sector. Our deep technical understanding of the basins we operate in defines our philosophy."
Paul Clarke

Leadership Team
Paul Clarke PhD
CEO, President, Director
Dr. Clarke joined CanCambria in mid-2022 as VP of Exploration and has 25 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. One of the E&P industry’s leading unconventional experts, a “blue-ribbon” oil and gas finder and developer. Dr. Clarke has deep technical and broad operational proficiency, leading complex teams and having held roles of increasing responsibility with large-cap U.S. independents. At the forefront of several major onshore exploration, appraisal, and development programs. Operated assets include the Eagle Ford and Spraberry/Wolfcamp trends, executing over 1,000 horizontal wells (with NYSE: PXD), and the giant Pinedale Field with Ultra Petroleum. Dr. Clarke has a passion for identifying opportunities and value-creation via the drill-bit. As a practical technical leader, his strengths include creativity and problem-solving. His track record is defined by practical, analytical, and strategic decision-making, also working with a sense of urgency.
Piet Van Assche C.Eng, FIMechE
COO & Managing Director - Hungary
Piet is a registered professional engineer with an in- depth understanding of the technical and commercial aspects of both upstream and downstream activities. He has managed numerous large multicultural and multidisciplinary teams throughout the world for Shell International, MOL (Hungarian Oil Company), and other independent oil and gas companies. Piet resides in Hungary, has extensive Hungarian oil and gas experience, and is the former MD of Delcuadra Kft.
Konstantin Lichtenwald CPA, CGA
CFO & Director
Konstantin has over 15 years of corporate finance and accounting experience, including compliance, accounting, financial management, and initial public offerings. He has lived and worked in multiple jurisdictions, including Germany, Australia, the US, and Canada. He is a director of several private and publicly listed companies in Canada.
Chris Beltgens MBA
VP Corporate Development
Since March 2021, Mr. Beltgens has been President and Director of Somerset Energy Partners, a private South Texas-focused oil production company. From April 2016 to January 2023, he was the Vice President of Corporate Development for TAG Oil Ltd., a TSX-listed international production oil and gas company. Mr. Beltgens previously spent six years in London working in investment banking, covering international oil and gas exploration and production companies, where he assisted in raising capital for the sector. Mr. Beltgens is currently an independent director for Kingfisher Metals Corp. (TSXV: KFR), Orex Minerals Inc. (TSXV: REX), and Intertidal Capital Corp. (TSXV: TIDE).
Eric Vaughan
VP Drilling and Completion
Eric is a senior well service executive with over 40 years of international experience, including leadership roles at Cuadrilla Resources, BJ Services, Nowsco, and Evergreen Resources. He has led pioneering completion programs across the UK, USA, and Europe. Eric’s expertise spans unconventional reservoirs and HPHT operations, with a track record in equipment design, company start-ups, and delivering technically complex, high-value projects.
Larry Busnardo
Vice President - Investor Relations
Mr. Larry Busnardo has been appointed VP Investor Relations. Mr. Busnardo brings over 25 years of experience in the oil and gas industry with a focus on finance, capital markets and investor relations, most recently serving as Managing Director at EnerCom, Inc., an internationally recognized management consulting firm advising clients on investor relations and marketing. His previous roles include VP Investor Relations at HighPoint Resources and Forest Oil in Denver. Prior to his corporate roles, Larry spent more than a decade as a sell-side analyst at Macquarie Capital, Tristone Capital and Petrie Parkman & Co. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Metropolitan State University.
Lee Lehtonen
Subsurface Technical Lead
Mr. Lee Lehtonen has assumed the role Technical Lead – Exploration. With over 35 years of domestic and international experience, working for majors and Independents, Mr. Lehtonen has worked on all aspects of exploration and production life cycle on 3
continents, at the level of SME and senior leadership. He has been a key contributor in major deep-water discoveries and development projects for Mobil, Texaco, Pioneer, Vanari, and Nexen. Key skillsets include portfolio analysis, prospect generation/evaluation, and M&A. He holds a B.A. in Geology (Colgate University), M.Sc. Applied Geophysics (University of Texas, El Paso) and an MBA from SMU Cox Business School, Dallas.

Board of Directors
Chris Cornelius PhD, C.Geol, Eur.Geol
Founder & Special Advisor to Board
A proven prospect generator and resource developer, Chris has held multidimensional positions in exploration, land, engineering, operations, M&A, and project finance. Founding CanCambria with long-time financial partners, he has been directly involved in the safe drilling and completion of several thousand wells in many of the world’s major hydrocarbon provinces. He has been a director of both private and public resource sector companies and was directly responsible for forming Delcuadra Kft in 2010—a private Hungarian exploration JV between RAG, Delta Hydrocarbons, and Cuadrilla Resources.
Toby Pierce MBA
Non-Executive Director
Toby Pierce is currently CEO and Director of Somerset Energy Partners, an oil and gas producer in South Texas. From 2015 to 2024, Mr. Pierce was CEO and Director of TAG Oil Ltd., a TSX-listed oil and gas producer in Australasia and Egypt. Mr. Pierce has over 28 years of geological and financial experience within the resource sector. He has been a founder, CEO, or director of numerous private and public oil and gas, mining, and natural resource companies. Mr. Pierce holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth Sciences from the University of Victoria.
Anthony (Tony) Kelly JD, LLB, MBA
Non-Executive Director
Tony has over 40 years investment banking, corporate strategy, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance experience in Australia, Europe, and North America. Tony began his investment banking career at Morgan Stanley in New York and subsequently held senior roles at MAST Global, Credit Suisse First Boston, and BZW, where he was head of Global M&A. He is currently a member of the investment committee of one of Australia’s largest infrastructure funds.
Peter Turner PhD, DSc
Non-Executive Director
A founding director of Cuadrilla Resources Ltd, Peter has worked extensively in the petroleum industry for over 40 years. A former reader in sedimentology at the University of Birmingham, UK, he is a leading authority on clastic reservoirs of the Rotliegend and the Permo-Trias. More recently, he has been working on tight-gas petroleum systems throughout Europe and North Africa. He is a director of several private companies.
J. Jay Stratton Jr.
Director
Mr. Jerald (Jay) Stratton Jnr. has been appointed Independent Director. Mr. Stratton is an accomplished oil and gas executive with over 40 years of experience at companies including ARCO, OXY, Anadarko and Chesapeake Energy, working both US domestic and international assets. Most recently serving as COO of Ultra Petroleum, he focused on capital efficiency and operational excellence delivering 20% cost reduction at the Pinedale tight gas field in Wyoming. He brings corporate strategic insights across a range of governance, safety, financial, and technical arenas and has extensive leadership
development experience and a superior network of industry experts and high-level decision makers, at the forefront of energy policy. Mr. Stratton holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Bernhard Krainer PhD
Exploration Advisor - Central Europe
Bernhard has over 30 years of experience in exploration and upstream business development. With a background in Central and Eastern Europe, he has worked globally, with postings in Western Canada, the UK, Norway, North Africa, the Middle East, and Pakistan. He held Managing Director positions for OMV AG in Norway and Abu Dhabi and was Director for Exploration and Appraisal with OMV Petrom, which included Romania, Bulgaria, and Georgia.


