David Tafel
Position: President, CEO & Director
Mr. Tafel holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Western Ontario and contributes over 20 years of corporate structuring, strategic planning, financing and management experience to the Company. He is currently CEO of Centurion Minerals Ltd., an agri-gypsum fertilizer company with operations in Argentina. He has been an officer and director of a number of publicly listed companies. He co-founded MBMI Resources Inc., which became a nickel producer in the Philippines (reaching a market capitalization of $400 million). He lead the spin out of Garson Gold Corp (from MBMI) and as CEO went on to acquire the New Britannia gold mine in Manitoba from Kinross/High River. Garson was subsequently bought out by a Toronto based mining company for over $35 million. Prior to his public company experience, Mr. Tafel managed private investment funds at the largest independent Canadian securities firm.
Jeremy Wright
Position: CFO & Director
Mr. Wright brings over 20 years’ experience to Portofino Resources as President and CEO of Seatrend Strategy Group. He currently serves as a Director of Demetra Minerals, and Good Ventures, and previously served as a Director with Pacific Community Resources Society, Budly Software, the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association and several community associations and municipal advisory boards, including the Gateway Stakeholders’ Advisory Committee for the City of Coquitlam. Additionally, Mr. Wright currently serves as the CFO for several public and private companies including: GTEC Holdings, Centurion Minerals, PayVida Solutions, and Demetra Minerals.
Prior to Seatrend, Mr. Wright spent 6 years in a senior role at Deloitte LLP. He has broad experience working with senior management developing strategies and solutions to business issues mainly related to corporate finance, cost and risk management, and governance focused on clients in the mining, technology, and regulated marijuana sectors. He has been interviewed by Global Business Reports for their report “Territories Mining and Exploration 2012”; and authored “Extracting Value — Yukon Mining 2011” for the Yukon Chamber of Mines.
Mr. Wright is a Chartered Professional Accountant (Certified Management Accountant). He has extensive negotiation training, including the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School programs: “Advanced Negotiation Skills” and “Strategies, Skills and Tactics of Negotiation”. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts, with honours in Environmental Economics from Brock University.
Sebastian
Position: President South America
Kenneth Cawkell
Position: Director
Mr. Cawkell is a member of the British Columbia Bar Association, and, in 1987, he co-founded the law firm Cawkell Brodie LLP, where he remains as Managing Partner. For over 25 years, he has been involved in technology industries within public, private and venture capital markets; successfully fulfilling the roles as a professional advisor and as a principal / investor. In his professional capacity, he has focused on intellectual property, technology transfer, financial and transaction structuring, and securities law. Mr. Cawkell is an investor and founder of a number of private companies, where he has held executive management positions, and currently sits on the board of a number of private and public companies. He has served as director and officer of a number of public companies involved in the mining industry. He is also a past member of the National Research Council of Canada IMB/ INH Advisory Board and the British Columbia Securities Commission’s Securities Law Advisory Committee.
Stephen Wilkinson
Position: Director
In the mid to late 1990’s, Mr. Wilkinson was the Vancouver-based mining analyst for RBC Dominion Securities Inc. responsible for small capitalization gold and base metal companies. From 1999 to 2002, he was President, CEO and Director of Northern Orion Explorations Ltd. and currently President and CEO of WPC Resources Inc., a British Columbia – based gold exploration company. Mr. Wilkinson has extensive international experience in the mining and finance industries having served as an officer and director of several private and public companies. Mr. Wilkinson has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Western Ontario (Geology, 1976), a Master of Science from Carleton University in Ottawa (Geology, 1983) and an MBA degree from Clarkson University in New York (1995).
Joseph Del Campo
Position: Director
Mr. Del Campo is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and is the Chief Financial Officer of First Nickel Inc. Mr. Del Campo began his career with Falconbridge Limited and spent over 19 years working within the Falconbridge group of companies at progressive financial positions, including Controller and Treasurer of Falconbridge Dominicana and Falconbridge Gold Corporation. Over the past 15 years Mr. Del Campo has been a director and Vice-President Finance and CFO of a number of junior exploration companies listed on the TSX and the TSX Venture Exchange.