Board of directors

Mr Timothy Abson Chairman

Tim Abson, a British citizen, was Chief Executive Officer of Chagala Group until 31 December 2010, responsible for all aspects of the overall management of the Group including development, investment, and operational activities. Prior to creating several of the joint ventures which became the Group in 1994, Tim was a Director working on business development for Track Limited, a British firm in the oil and gas industry, based in Kazakhstan for two years. He also previously worked for Taylors Limited in Bahrain and Kuwait for five years, and for Spinney’s 1948 Limited in Saudi Arabia, for four years both in business development. Tim sits on the Remuneration and Nominations Committee. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American University of London.

Mr Francisco Parrilla Chief Executive Officer

Francisco Parrilla started his professional career as Design Engineer for Arup in London in 1997, moving to Russia in 1998 to develop his experience on project and site management in the international realm. In 1999, he moved to Arup’s Spanish office where he worked for three years in Spain and South America in different positions and was a key part of the team that grew the office six-fold to 65 employees. In 2002, Francisco joined Turner & Townsend where he was instrumental in developing the company’s international business around a selected number of clients. During this period, he regularly lived and visited Africa and Asia to develop projects and the company interests. He joined European Future Group in 2007 as Real Estate Development Director for Romania where he structured and developed several residential, commercial, retail and industrial projects. Francisco joined Chagala Group as Director of Capital Projects in 2009 and was appointed CEO in January 2011. He graduated from Universidad Pontificia de Comillas ICAI, Madrid, Spain in 1997 with a degree in Industrial Engineering and from London Business School, London, UK in 2005 with a Master of Business Administration.

Mr Mark Lockwood Senior Independent Director

Mark Lockwood was admitted to practice as a solicitor in Australia in 1986, before moving to Hong Kong in 1987. He worked for Baker & McKenzie for over five years in Hong Kong before moving to Vietnam as the partner-in-charge of establishing Baker & McKenzie’s operations in Vietnam (where he was based for five years). From 1998 to 2003, Mark was based in Kazakhstan where he oversaw Baker & McKenzie’s CIS infrastructure practice, advising on numerous energy-related transactions including transactions throughout the CIS. Mark is a Director of a number of private companies as well as Vietnam Growth Fund Limited (listed on the Irish Exchange). Mark chairs the Remuneration and Nominations Committee. He graduated from Monash University, Victoria, Australia in 1985 with a combined Arts/Law degree.

Mr Javier del Ser Non-Executive Director

Javier del Ser, a Spanish citizen, assists in over-seeing the department responsible for the construction and operation of our hotels, offices, and apartments. Prior to joining the Group in 2000, Javier worked for four years for the Kazakhstan Asset Management Company managing the Kazakhstan Investment Fund, as a Director responsible for launching the fund, and identifying investment opportunities. Prior to this, he was a Managing Director for Crescat Developments in Sri Lanka for 2.5 years responsible for construction and arranging finance and marketing the development of mixed use and hotel projects. Javier is the CEO of Steppe Cement Limited, an AIM listed company, and he also holds Directorships at a number of non-listed companies. He sits on the Audit Committee. Javier holds a Master’s degree in Structural Engineering from ETSI Caminos, Canales, Puertos in Madrid and a Master’s in Business Administration from HEC Jouy en Josas in France.

Mr Baltabek Kuandykov Non-Executive Director

Baltabek Kuandykov joined the Chagala Board as a Non-Executive Director in January 2008. He is currently President of Meridian Petroleum. Baltabek was formerly President of Nelson Resources Limited, the oil development and production company operating in Kazakhstan which was listed on the London Stock Exchange until its acquisition by Lukoil in 2005. Baltabek has considerable experience in the oil and gas industry in the region, having served as President of Kazakhoil (predecessor of KazMunaiGas) and is a well-respected consultant to Chevron Overseas Petroleum on CIS projects. He also worked in a senior capacity for Kazneftegazrazvedka and was President of Kazakhstancaspishelf. Baltabek also has extensive government experience in Kazakhstan, having served as Deputy Minister of Geology, Head of the Oil and Gas Directorate at the Ministry of Geology, and was Deputy Minister of Energy and Fuel Resources. He sits on the Remuneration and Nominations Committee.

Mr Edmund Limerick Non-Executive Director

Edmund Limerick currently manages the Altima Central Asia Fund (“Altima”), a hedge fund with direct investments into businesses in Kazakhstan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia on behalf of Altima Partners LLP. Altima is one of Chagala’s largest shareholders. Edmund has extensive CIS experience as a Solicitor, Investment Banker and Fund Manager. He was formerly a Senior Vice President at Dubai International Capital, and a Director for Deutsche Bank in Moscow, Dubai and London, the latter including project finance related to oil and gas and the CIS. Edmund is also a Non-Executive Director of Saddleback Mining Ltd., GRDC 1 Ltd and Roxi Petroleum Ltd. He chairs the Audit Committee.