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

Thor 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

EVP and General Counsel

Matthew Powers joined Vaalco in October 2022 as EVP and General Counsel. Prior to Vaalco, Mr. Powers served as EVP 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.

Casey Donohue, PHD

EVP, Technical and Business Development

Casey Donohue joined Vaalco in February 2025 as EVP, Technical and Business Development. He has more than 20 years of experience in the international upstream oil and gas industry, with a proven history of technical expertise, exploration success, project management and operational excellence. Prior to joining Vaalco, Mr. Donohue held several senior leadership roles at Apache Corp, including Director of Conventional Exploration and most recently Director of International New Ventures.

A geologist by training, Mr. Donohue began his career in technical roles with ExxonMobil and BHP Billiton. Over his career, he has accumulated experience over a wide range of conventional and unconventional plays across Exploration, Development and Production assets around the world.

Mr. Donohue holds a BS in Geology from the University of New Hampshire and a MSc and PhD in Geology from the University of Michigan.

Lisa Ruiz

SVP, Global Human Resources

Lisa Ruiz joined Vaalco in April 2023 as VP, Global Human Resources and was promoted to SVP, Global Human Resources in 2025. She has over 24 years of HR experience with private and publicly traded companies, and over 10 years in the energy industry.  Prior to joining Vaalco, Ms. Ruiz has held various leadership roles, including Vice President of Human Resources at MetroNational, a commercial real estate company, as well as Senior Vice President of Global Human Resources at ION Geophysical, a publicly traded, multinational company.  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, M&A, continuous process improvement and performance management with a proven track record of building and leading high-performing global HR teams and fostering positive work cultures. She is passionate about building environments where diverse perspectives thrive, fueling creativity and driving business success.

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

Ed Cozens

VP, Commercial and Strategic Planning

Edward Cozens joined Vaalco Energy in November 2021 as VP, Commercial and 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.

Lynn Willis

Chief Accounting Officer and Controller

Lynn Willis has served as the Company’s 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.

Julie Ray

VP, Treasury

Julie 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.

James Waithman

VP, Technical Services

James Waithman joined Vaalco Energy in January 2021 and serves as VP, Technical Services. He has over 25 years of oil and gas experience, working across the complete life cycle of the business from appraisal, field development planning, project execution, production operations and abandonment for developments in West Africa, North America and the North Sea.

Prior to joining Vaalco, Mr. Waithman started his career served in roles of increasing responsibility with KBR, Nexen and CNOOC, including General Manager of Development and Production and Vice President of Engineering and Construction.

Mr. Waithman holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nottingham.

Dan Maguire

VP, Subsurface

Dan Maguire joined Vaalco in March 2023 as VP, Subsurface.  He has more than 40 years of experience in the international upstream oil and gas industry.

A geophysicist by education, he has expanded his portfolio of skills across various geoscience and business domains to include expertise in quantitative seismic data interpretation, 4D seismic techniques, clastic sedimentology, oil and gas project economics, structured decision analysis, project management and field development & operations support.  Prior to joining Vaalco Mr. Maguire held positions of increasing responsibility in both exploration and production/development roles in Unocal, Chevron, Hess and Kosmos Energy.  He has extensive experience in Southeast Asia and Africa.

Mr. Maguire holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geophysical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a Master of Management degree from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.  Mr. Maguire is a Registered Professional Geologist in the State of Texas.

Iman Hill

Country Manager and MD of Vaalco Energy Egypt

Iman Hill joined Vaalco in August 2024 as Country Manager and MD of Vaalco Energy Egypt. She is a Petroleum Engineer with over 35 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry with extensive global expertise in the technical and commercial aspects of the petroleum business, in particular field development, capital projects and production operations.

Ms. Hill’s experience has been gained in North and West Africa, the Middle East, South America, the Far East, and the North Sea in a number of diverse settings from onshore to ultra-deep water with companies that include BP, Shell, BG Group, Dana Gas and Sasol where she was responsible for the Company’s African Upstream unit.  Immediately prior to joining Vaalco, she was the CEO of the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP).

Ms. Hill completed her further education in Aberdeen and holds a BSc in Biochemistry and a MSc in Computing Science. She has also completed the Shell MBA and Leadership Development Program for senior executives at Insead.  Iman also holds an honorary position on the Advisory Board of the International Institute Leadership and Safety Culture (IILSC).