Board of Directors

Mr. Brian Paes-Braga is a Canadian-born entrepreneur, merchant banking executive, and author. Currently, he serves as Managing Partner at SAF Group, a leading structured credit and merchant banking group which builds, invests, finances, and advises high growth companies as well as provides flexible and long-term capital solutions to public and private corporations while providing stable returns for investors through its structured credit arm. As an executive, Mr. Paes-Braga was Founder and CEO of Lithium X Energy Corp., a lithium resource company which, within 2.5 years, raised approximately CDN$53 million and was acquired in an all-cash deal for CDN$265 million. Mr. Paes-Braga was formerly Chair of the board of directors of Thunderbird Entertainment, and a former board member of DeepGreen Metals (now TMC the metals company Inc.), which closed a >US$2 billion go-public transaction on the NASDAQ in September 2021 and aims to supply the world with ethical, clean metals harvested from the deep ocean floor.

Mr. Keith Hill, with more than 35 years in the oil and gas industry, including over 25 years with the Lundin Group, offers deep expertise in international new venture management and exploration. He has held senior roles at Occidental Petroleum and Shell Oil Company, and previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Africa Oil Corp., Valkyries Petroleum, ShaMaran Petroleum, Pearl Resources, and Bayou Bend Petroleum. With a Master of Science in Geology and an MBA in International Finance, his extensive experience in international exploration and development of high-impact projects will strengthen the Board's oversight of the Company's aggressive 2026 drilling and production growth plans.

Mr. Fonseca has over 24 years of experience in the oil & gas and investment banking sectors and has extensive in country experience in Colombia. Most recently, Mr. Fonseca served as Structure Trade Finance Director for the oil bench in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for British Petroleum. He has worked at BP p.l.c., Frontera Energy Corp., Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp., Citigroup Inc., BBVA S.A. and Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF). His experience encompasses corporate finance, structured finance, project finance, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, debt capital markets, bond issuance, corporate restructuring, derivatives, treasury management and more. He has been a part of leading and closing cross border transactions amounting to over US$22 billion, in aggregate. Mr. Fonseca holds a Bachelor (Honors) of Science in Economics from Buckingham University (UK) and a Masters (Honors) in International Finance from the University of Glasgow (UK).

Mr. Paul Saad, a seasoned entrepreneur and chartered accountant, has founded and led multiple successful businesses in the fast-moving consumer goods, food, and nutraceutical sectors. He founded Futurelife, a leading functional food company, serving as its Chief Executive Officer for over 15 years before its sale to a publicly listed U.S.-based entity. Mr. Saad's expertise spans manufacturing, supply chain management, brand development, corporate structuring, and international expansion. Holding degrees in Auditing, Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, and Advanced Taxation from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, his strategic acumen will bolster NGE's governance and support its pursuit of operational excellence and sustainable growth in the energy transition space.

Mrs. Patricia Paba is the Founder and CEO of Estudios y Consultorías SAS, a firm specializing in financial consulting and regulatory advisory in natural gas and energy across Colombia and Latin America. Patricia also serves as the CFO for Caribbean Resources and has past work experience at Promigas and Ministry of Mines and Energy.

Mr. Don Sewell is a private and public company finance executive and former energy investment banker. Mr. Sewell currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of a private global energy transition-focused royalty company in addition to leading energy transition investments for SAF Group. Prior to, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of a TSX-listed consumer-packaged goods company and spent several years in the energy investment banking groups of a big six Canadian bank and an independent energy investment dealer. Mr. Sewell brings a broad range of experience in corporate finance, capital markets, governance and securities regulatory matters given his public company leadership experience, in addition to advising on the completion of several billion dollars in energy sector M&A transactions and capital raises. Don holds a BSc degree from McGill University and is a CFA charterholder.

Mr. Brian O’Neill is Vice President of SAF Growth at the SAF Group. He is a former director of Gold-X Mining which was sold to Gran Colombia Gold (now Aris Gold). He spent nearly a decade in the practice of law with leading Canadian law firm, McCarthy Tétrault LLP. His practice began in the areas of corporate and commercial law, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, corporate finance, intellectual property, and commercial transactions. He then shifted his practice to focus on corporate tax matters, with a particular emphasis on the tax-related aspects of mergers and acquisitions and corporate reorganizations. Mr. O’Neill received his B.Sc. Honours in Molecular Genetics, with first-class standing, and his LL.B., with distinction, from the University of Alberta. He is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia and has completed CPA Canada’s In-Depth Tax Course.