Management Bios
John J. Komarnicki
Chairman, CEO and Director
Mr. Komarnicki holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto and has 37 years of experience in the resource sector. He is currently Director, Chairman and CEO of Alhambra Resources Ltd. He has been Chairman of Alhambra Resources Ltd. since 2001.
Between 1999 and 2005, Mr. Komarnicki was President and CEO of Tartan Energy Inc., a Canadian based oil and gas exploration and development company focusing its activities on California, USA and Central Asia. The company was sold in 2005 to a private international energy company.
From 1989 to 1998, Mr. Komarnicki was President and CEO of Hurricane Hydrocarbons Ltd., a junior Canadian oil and gas exploration, development and production company doing business in Kazakhstan. Hurricane Hydrocarbons, later called PetroKazakhstan, was successful in winning the first major state energy privatization tender in 1995. From 1973 to 1988, Mr. Komarnicki held positions of increasing responsibility in technical and management positions in the Canadian oil and gas industry.
Mr. Komarnicki is a member of the Association of Petroleum Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta, and a past president of the Canadian Gas Processors Association. In 1998, he was recognized as the Prairie Region Entrepreneur of the Year for his achievements in developing Hurricane Hydrocarbons from a junior energy company into a significant oil producer in Kazakhstan.
Donald D. McKechnie
Vice President of Finance and
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. McKechnie is a Chartered Accountant with 35 years of senior financial and management experience 32 of those being in the resource sector involved with oil and natural gas projects in Canada, Indonesia and Ukraine and in the mining sector in Kazakhstan. The majority of his career was spent with North Canadian Oils Limited, a natural resource and electrical cogeneration company headquartered in Calgary. Mr. McKechnie was the president of North Canadian's electrical cogeneration subsidiary at the time that company was sold. Mr. McKechnie joined Alhambra in 2003.
Ihor P. Wasylkiw, P. Eng.
Vice President and
Chief Information Officer
Mr. Wasylkiw is a Professional Engineer with 31 years of experience in the oil, gas, mining, and securities industries. He has held both technical and managerial positions and has worked internationally.
Mr. Wasylkiw was appointed Vice-President and Chief Information Officer of Alhambra Resources Ltd. on January 7, 2006. For seven years prior to this appointment, Mr. Wasylkiw held the position of Vice President Investor Relations for PetroKazakhstan Inc., an integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and gas, refining of oil and sale of oil and refined products in Kazakhstan.
Mr. Wasylkiw holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (Honors) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manitoba. From 1979 to 1992, Mr. Wasylkiw worked for Shell Canada Limited in various technical and managerial positions. In 1992, he joined Total Gestion Internationale in Paris, France and worked in Russian and Tatarstan where he held the positions First Deputy Director General and Advisor to the Director General.
Upon his return to Canada, Mr. Wasylkiw spent four years in the investment sector, two years with Research Capital Corporation as a Senior Oil and Gas Analyst.
Mr. Wasylkiw is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta and the Canadian Investor Relations Institute. He has been the recipient of the Canadian Petroleum Association Distinguished Service Award.
Paul Marchenko, MBA
Vice President Business Development
Mr. Marchenko holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Calgary and a Law Degree from the Kiev State University. Mr. Marchenko joined Alhambra in 2003 and was appointed Vice President Business Development on November 26, 2009. Before his appointment he held various management positions within the Corporation.
From 2001 to 2003, Mr. Marchenko was a Senior Tax Consultant with Deloitte & Touche LLP in Calgary where he focused on tax compliance and planning matters for both Canadian and international companies. During this time he completed an in-depth tax course administered by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Between 1996 and 1999, Mr. Marchenko practiced corporate and securities law with the Chicago based international law firm of Altheimer & Gray in Kiev where he worked extensively on investment transactions related to various countries within the former Soviet Union. As part of his practice, Mr. Marchenko represented the interests of some of the world's largest multinational corporations and financial institutions, such as British Petroleum, Motorola, Credit Suisse First Boston, Citibank and the EBRD, for their investment projects in Russia, Ukraine and other Former Soviet Union countries. In 1997, he completed the International Investment Transactions course administered by Altheimer & Gray.
During the 1996 to 1997 academic year, Mr. Marchenko lectured at the Kiev State University, Faculty of Law on a part-time basis. Mr. Marchenko is fluent in English, Russian and Ukrainian.