MEET THE TRU TEAM
STEVE NICOL
CEO, Director, Chair of the Technical Committee
Mr. Nicol is a mining engineer with over 35 years of experience in the mining industry, including operations management, mine evaluation and development, and other diverse corporate roles. His experience covers open pit and underground mining, CIL, flotation, and gravity processing, and direct hands-on management of all phases of diverse mining projects, from early-stage exploration through to mine closure and rehabilitation, for a variety of commodities including base, precious and specialty metals and diamonds.
OLGA NIKITOVIC, CPA, CA
President & CFO
Olga Nikitovic is a Chartered Accountant and management consultant with over 28 years of work experience. She started her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers and worked there for 9 years in both the audit and management consulting departments. While consulting, Ms. Nikitovic specialized in re-engineering and cost management.
After leaving PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ms. Nikitovic held senior management positions with two of Canada’s largest retailers. Since then, she has held executive level positions in a number of private and publicly traded mining companies.
MANISH Z. KSHATRIYA
Chairman of the Board
Mr. Kshatriya is currently the Managing Director of a Toronto based Business Advisory firm providing executive management, governance and compliance oversight, and capital markets advisory services to small and mid-market private and publicly listed companies. He has over 20 years of progressive experience in corporate finance, governance, accounting, taxation, and auditing obtained in public accounting practice and industry. Mr. Kshatriya’s extensive capital markets experience includes: the formation and development of mineral resource exploration companies from inception to initial public offerings; the formation and offerings of flow-through limited partnerships; raising capital; merger and acquisition activity; serving on private and public company boards; and, proxy contests.
Most recently, and prior to his role as Managing Director, Mr. Kshatriya served as Director, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of a United States based mineral resources company that was listed both in the US and in Canada. Prior to that role, Mr. Kshatriya worked for a Toronto based, Canadian listed mining merchant bank where he served as Chief Financial Officer.
Mr. Kshatriya earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree, with Honours in Accounting and Finance, from York University in Toronto. He is a graduate of the director’s education program at the Institute of Corporate Directors at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto and is an institute certified director (ICD.D). He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (Chartered Accountant) and a member of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario. He is also a Certified Public Accountant in the United States and a graduate from the Colorado State Board of Accountancy.
Brian Timmons
Director
Mr. Timmons is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, with over 30 years of experience in senior positions within companies across a range of industries, including fund management, investment banking (in Irish Life Assurance Co. and AIB Capital Markets PLC respectively), healthcare technology, bioscience, alternative energy and resource companies, e-commerce, telecoms and software IT.
Mr. Timmons completed the Accountancy Programme of Irish Life Assurance and qualified as an Associate of the Society of Investment Analysts, Ireland (ASIA), which is the precursor of the CFA Institute of Ireland.
GARTH EARLS
Project Evaluation Advisor to the Technical Committee
Professor Earls has over 40 years of professional experience in mineral exploration and mining in Ireland and internationally. He was part of the team that discovered the 6 million ounce Curraghinalt gold deposit in Northern Ireland and has worked extensively on gold and base metal deposits and mineralization in Ireland and the UK. He is a former Director of the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, former Director of the CSA Group and a past Chairman of the Geosciences Committee of the Royal Irish Academy. He delivers the Economic Geology course in University College Cork, Ireland. He is currently Executive Chairman of International Geoscience Services.
Professor Earls’ relevant experience includes; Mineral exploration and mining in Ireland and UK, Europe, Africa, South America, North America, Central and Eastern Asia; Gold and base metals exploration and development appraisal, including Competent Person (Qualified Person) reporting; and Directorships and governance roles in a range of public and private companies and organizations.
STEVEN AGNEW
Director
Mr. Agnew is a Partner of Irwin Lowy LLP, a Toronto-based law firm. Mr. Agnew is a securities lawyer with close to twenty years of experience advising public and private companies on corporate finance, M&A, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance. Mr. Agnew received his Bachelor of Laws in 2005 from the University of Windsor, and a Bachelor of Arts from Bishop’s University in 2001.
HERAN (KEVIN) ZHOU, B.Com.
Corporate Secretary
Mr. Zhou is a finance and economics specialist and is currently a financial analyst with Resurgent Capital Corp. (“Resurgent”). Prior to joining Resurgent, he acquired work experience globally in Canada, the United States and China, serving analytical roles in private equity and asset management firms. He has sound practical experience in corporate finance, venture capital markets, and private equities. Mr. Zhou holds a B.Com. with distinction from the University of Toronto.