This hands-on team collectively drives our day-to-day pursuit of operational excellence while identifying and pursuing responsible growth opportunities to ensure we continue to thrive. Deeply invested in our success and unified by a genuine sense of camaraderie, our team works together seamlessly to provide strategic direction and guidance that ultimately provides long-term value for our shareholders.
Jeff Tonken
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board
Mr. Tonken is the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation and has overall responsibility for providing leadership and direction to the Corporation. He has also served as the Chairman of the Board since May 2017 and is a member of the Corporation’s EHSS Committee. Mr. Tonken has over 40 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry, including in the areas of executive leadership, finance, corporate governance, acquisitions and divestitures, business development, marketing and legal.
Mr. Tonken is one of the founders of the Corporation and served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Birchcliff and its predecessor entities from July 2004 to December 2021. Prior to Birchcliff, Mr. Tonken founded and served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Case Resources Inc., Big Bear Exploration Ltd. and Stampeder Exploration Ltd. Prior thereto, he was a partner with the law firm Howard, Mackie (now Borden Ladner Gervais LLP). Mr. Tonken is currently the Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and was the Chair in 2019.
Mr. Tonken holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Wales. He is a member of the Law Society of Alberta.
Christopher Carlsen
President and Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Carlsen is the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Corporation and is responsible for overseeing Birchcliff’s day-to-day operations. He is a Professional Engineer with over 20 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry, including in the areas of executive leadership, engineering, operations, finance, acquisitions and divestitures, business development, marketing and sustainability.
Mr. Carlsen joined Birchcliff in 2008 and served as the Vice President, Engineering of the Corporation from July 2013 to December 2021. Prior to his appointment as Vice President Engineering, he held a number of roles with Birchcliff with increasing responsibility. Prior to joining Birchcliff, Mr. Carlsen was the Senior Engineer at Greenfield Resources Ltd. and held various engineering positions at both Encana Corporation and PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd.
Mr. Carlsen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and is a member of APEGA.
Bruno Geremia
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Geremia is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation and is responsible for overseeing Birchcliff’s finance, accounting, payroll, investor relations and information technology teams. He is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry, including in the areas of executive leadership, accounting, finance, taxation and acquisitions and divestitures.
Mr. Geremia is one of the founders of Birchcliff and served as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation and its predecessor entities from July 2004 to December 2021. Prior to Birchcliff, he served as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of both Case Resources Inc. and Big Bear Exploration Ltd., as the Director, Commercial of Gulf Canada Resources and as the Manager, Special Projects of Stampeder Exploration Ltd. Mr. Geremia was previously a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte LLP.
Mr. Geremia holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary. He is a Chartered Accountant with the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta.
Myles Bosman
Executive Vice President, Exploration
Mr. Bosman is the Executive Vice President, Exploration of the Corporation and is responsible for overseeing Birchcliff’s geology, geoscience, mineral land and surface land teams. He is a Professional Geologist with over 30 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry, including in the areas of executive leadership, geology, geophysics, finance and acquisitions and divestitures.
Mr. Bosman is one of the founders of Birchcliff and served as the Vice President, Exploration and Chief Operating Officer of the Corporation and its predecessor entities from July 2004 to December 2021. Prior to Birchcliff, he was the Vice President, Exploration and Chief Operating Officer of Case Resources Inc., the Exploration Manager of Summit Resources Ltd. and an Exploration Geologist with both Numac Energy Inc. and Canadian Hunter Exploration.
Mr. Bosman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of Calgary and a Resource Engineering diploma from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT). He is a member of APEGA.
David Humphreys
Executive Vice President, Operations
Mr. Humphreys is the Executive Vice President, Operations of the Corporation and is responsible for overseeing Birchcliff’s drilling and completions, facilities, production, health and safety and environmental teams. He has over 35 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry, including in the areas of executive leadership, operations, drilling and completions, health and safety, corporate governance and sustainability.
Mr. Humphreys joined Birchcliff in October 2009 and served as the Vice President, Operations from October 2009 to December 2021. Prior to joining Birchcliff, he served as the Vice President, Operations of Highpine Oil & Gas Ltd., White Fire Energy Ltd. and Virtus Energy Ltd. and was a Production Manager with both Husky Oil Operations Limited and Ionic Energy. Mr. Humphreys is currently a member of the Board of Governors of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (EPAC) and was the Chair in 2020. He is also a director of Energy Safety Canada (ESC) and sits on the Safety Standards Council (SSC).
Mr. Humphreys holds a Hydrocarbon Engineering Technology diploma from NAIT and is a member of APEGA, holding a Professional Licensee (Engineering) designation. He is a member of the Association of Science & Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta (ASET) and is a holder of the Institute of Corporate Directors’ Director designation.
Theo van der Werken
Vice President, Engineering
Mr. van der Werken is the Vice President, Engineering of the Corporation and is responsible for overseeing Birchcliff’s Montney asset, subsurface engineering, reserves and strategic planning teams. He is a Professional Engineer and has over 20 years of industry experience focused on asset management and operations engineering, working onshore and offshore in Europe, the Middle East and North America.
Since joining Birchcliff in April 2011, Mr. van der Werken has held a number of roles with increasing responsibility. Prior to his appointment as Vice President, Engineering in January 2022, Mr. van der Werken held the position of Asset Team Lead/Asset Manager for the Corporation’s Pouce Coupe assets from November 2011 to December 2021. Prior to joining Birchcliff, he worked for Equal Energy, Seven Energy (Canada) Inc., ConocoPhillips Canada and Weatherford International.
Mr. van der Werken holds a Master of Science degree in Mining Engineering from the Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands and a Master of Business Administration from the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary in the Global Energy Executive MBA program. He is a member of APEGA and a member of the board of directors of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Canada.
Robyn Bourgeois
Vice President, Legal, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Ms. Bourgeois is the Vice President, Legal, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Corporation and is responsible for overseeing Birchcliff’s legal team and corporate secretarial function. She has over 15 years of experience in corporate governance, M&A, corporate finance and commercial contract negotiation.
Ms. Bourgeois joined Birchcliff as General Counsel in December 2014 and was appointed as Corporate Secretary on June 30, 2017. Prior to joining Birchcliff, she was a partner with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP specializing in securities, corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions law.
Ms. Bourgeois holds a Bachelor of Science degree with distinction in Psychology from the University of Calgary and a Bachelor of Laws degree with distinction from the University of Alberta. She is a member of the Law Society of Alberta.
Hue Tran
Vice President, Business Development and Marketing
Mr. Tran is the Vice President, Business Development and Marketing of the Corporation and is responsible for overseeing Birchcliff’s marketing and business innovation teams. He has over 15 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry, including in the areas of marketing, joint ventures, business development and finance.
Since joining Birchcliff in February 2010, Mr. Tran has held a number of roles with increasing responsibility. Prior to his appointment as Vice President, Business Development and Marketing in January 2022, Mr. Tran held the position of Manager, Business Development and Marketing from January 2018 to December 2021. Prior to joining Birchcliff, he worked for Provident Energy Ltd. and Samson Canada Ltd.
Mr. Tran holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Calgary.