Board

Craig was appointed as Non-Executive Chair in February 2023.

Skills and experience

• B.A. and Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), University of Sydney

A qualified lawyer, Craig has nearly three decades of senior international executive experience across a wide range of industries, including multinational public companies at FTSE100 and ASX20 level with exposure to operations in over 50 countries. He is an experienced driver of strategic initiatives, complex transactions, portfolio reconstructions and capital market activities with a strong commitment to delivering the highest standards of corporate governance at Capricorn.

Craig has had an extensive international career with a range of large public companies in operational, functional, legal/M&A, special project leadership and unique advisory roles.

He has had deep exposure to the interaction between the public and private sectors and has a strong understanding of the roles and expectations of boards as well as their interactions with executive management.

Most recently, Craig was CEO of the New South Wales Government’s Barangaroo Delivery Authority (2014-2019) where he was responsible for a high-profile A$10 billion infrastructure and urban renewal project.

Craig held several positions with the Brambles Group, including as President of Brambles’ CHEP logistics/network business across the Asia Pacific region, Global Head of M&A, Group General Counsel and Group Company Secretary.

He also held senior executive and advisory roles with the Westfield Group, Transurban Group, CIMIC Group, Lend Lease Corporation and the Foster’s Group.

Key external appointments

• Non-Executive Director, SHAPE Group

Committee membership

• Nomination and Governance Committee - Chair

Chris was appointed as an Executive Director in February 2023.

Skills and experience

• Bachelor’s in Petroleum Engineering, Imperial College, University of London

Chris has over 40 years’ experience in the global oil & gas upstream sector. Most recently, he was CEO of Spirit Energy and Managing Director of Centrica E&P where he delivered significant and sustainable improvements in complex businesses. Chris possesses deep knowledge of a broad range of disciplines relevant to Capricorn’s portfolio, including subsurface, drilling, projects, operations, M&A and JV management.

Under his leadership as CEO of Spirit Energy (2016-2022), Chris transformed Centrica’s E&P business through a combination with Bayerngas to create a smaller, Europe-focused and sustainable business producing c.50 million barrels of oil equivalent per year.

Chris refreshed the Centrica E&P portfolio by exiting non-core regions, creating a more streamlined North Sea upstream business, returning significant capital to the parent organisation and delivering material cost savings across the business.

Following Centrica’s decision to minimise upstream exposure, Chris managed the successful sale of Spirit’s Norwegian assets, returning significant capital to shareholders and re-focusing Spirit on optimising value from its UK asset base.

Earlier in his career, Chris held various senior roles with BG Group (2006-2015), Amerada Hess (2004-2006) and Chevron (1982-2004) in locations across Europe, Africa, Australia, the US and Asia-Pacific region. He also served as non-executive chairman of Kellas Midstream (2015-2020).

Chris brings a wealth of highly relevant experience to maximising the value of Capricorn’s oil & gas assets, including reservoir engineering, drilling operations, strategic planning, M&A, capital projects, HSE, government interactions and JV management.

Key external appointments

• Non-Executive Director of Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC

Catherine was appointed as an independent Non-Executive Director in July 2019.

Skills and experience

• BSc and MSc in Petroleum Engineering from Colorado School of Mines

Catherine Krajicek started her career with Conoco as an associate engineer and remained with the company for a total of 22 years, progressing through a variety of oil and gas technical and subsequently asset management roles in both the US and Indonesia. In 2007, Catherine left ConocoPhillips and joined Marathon Oil where she went on to hold a number of senior executive (Vice President) roles before retiring from Marathon in 2018.

Committee membership

• Sustainability Committee (Chair)
• Audit Committee

Erik was appointed as an independent Non-Executive Director in May 2020.

Skills and Experience

• BA in Business Administration, Southern Methodist University, Dallas

Erik B. Daugbjerg has over 20 years’ experience in both midstream and upstream oil and gas sectors in the US including founding roles at two oil and gas operators based in the Permian Basin. In 2006, Erik co-founded Pecos Operating Company, and in 2010, co-founded RSP Permian, Inc. Erik has extensive public markets experience, including delivery of acquisitions and disposals, and he played an integral role in the disposal of RSP Permian to Concho Resources, Inc in July 2018 for US $9.5 billion.

Key external appointments

• Director of Kimbell Royalty Partners
• Co-Founder of Pecos Operating Company, LLC

Committee membership

• Remuneration Committee
• Sustainability Committee

Maria was appointed as a Non-Executive Director in February 2023.

Skills and experience

• Master’s, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
• Bachelor’s in Political Science, University of Wisconsin
• Chartered Financial Analyst
• Corporate Director Certificate, Harvard Business School

Maria has strong governance experience, having served as chair, senior director and committee member of various public companies. She currently serves as Non-Executive Chair of Constellation Oil Services, a deep-water drilling oil services company based in Brazil. She has two decades of direct investment experience in senior roles, including as Head of Emerging Markets Equity Strategy at Goldman Sachs and PIMCO. With that she brings considerable expertise in portfolio management and equity and debt capital markets.

Key external appointments

• Non-Executive Chair, Constellation Oil Services

Committee membership

• Remuneration Committee – Chair
• Audit Committee
• Nomination and Governance Committee

Richard was appointed as a Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director in February 2023.

Skills and experience

• Bachelor’s in Geology, University of Bristol

Richard is a petroleum geologist with over 40 years’ experience in the oil and gas sector, including leading executive roles across the world's major hydrocarbon provinces. Most recently, Richard served as CEO of Frontera Energy Corporation and global head of exploration for BP.

His career started at Phillips Petroleum, followed by 19 years at BP in senior exploration and development positions spanning Southeast Asia, Latin America, the US, Angola and the UK North Sea. After leaving BP, Richard spent 6 years with TNK-BP in Russia, serving first as VP Exploration and then EVP Technology. After that he worked in Canada as Vice-President, Exploration of Talisman Energy for 5 years, before returning to BP as Head of Exploration in 2013.

Key external appointments

• Non-Executive Director, Angus Energy plc
• Non-Executive Director, PGS ASA

Committee membership

• Audit Committee
• Nomination and Governance Committee

Hesham was appointed as a Non-Executive Director in February 2023.

Skills and experience

• Advanced Management Program (AMP), Harvard Business School
• MBA, Boston University
• Bachelor’s in Engineering, Cairo University

Hesham is an accomplished senior corporate executive with over 30 years’ of experience at BP, serving most recently as Regional President of BP North Africa. He brings considerable industry knowledge and experience of the North Africa, having developed strong political and business relationships in the region.

As Regional President for BP North Africa (2014-2020), Hesham was responsible for a business that spans Egypt, Libya, Algeria and Morocco.

He transformed BP's Egypt business by identifying and translating complex growth opportunities into tangible outcomes, including leading successful negotiations for the modernisation of the fiscal and commercial terms of BP's Egyptian concessions.

He led the merger between BP Egypt and BP North Africa to create a more responsive and performance-driven organisation, resulting in significantly reduced costs, improved efficiency and outstanding growth potential for BP’s North Africa business.

Hesham held various roles with BP and Amoco earlier in his career, focusing on financial operations, strategic planning, economic analysis and business development across locations in Cairo, Houston, Chicago and London.

Key external appointments

• Non-Executive Director, Orange Egypt
• Non-Executive Director, Egypt’s Sovereign Infrastructure & Utilities Sub-Fund

Committee membership

• Nomination and Governance Committee
• Sustainability Committee

Tom was appointed as a Non-Executive Director in February 2023.

Skills and experience

• Master’s degree, Queens’ College, University of Cambridge

He has over 25 years’ investment banking and private equity experience in public and private markets. He is currently a partner at LionRock Capital, having previously served in senior leadership positions at firms including Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and D.E. Shaw. Tom has broad experience in emerging markets, capital markets and structuring of complex financial products.

He is currently Head of Europe and an investment committee member at LionRock Capital, a private equity firm investing primarily in Europe and Asia. Prior to joining LionRock, Tom was a managing director at Credit Suisse, where he ran distribution and coverage groups involved in leveraged finance, credit, equity derivatives, cash equities and private placements.

He has direct investment experience in numerous emerging and frontier markets, including Vietnam, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Laos.

Key external appointments

• Non-Executive Vice Chairman, Harmony Advisors
• Non-Executive Director, SiGi Capital
• Non-Executive Director, Clarks

Committee membership

• Audit Committee – Chair
• Remuneration Committee