Board of Directors
In Memory Of
Bradford Cooke
Founder
Bradford Cooke had over 40 years' experience as a professional geologist and mining executive. Mr. Cooke held an M.Sc. in Geology from the University of British Columbia and a B.Sc. in Geology from Queens University. He was the founder and CEO of Endeavour Silver Corp., a mid-tier precious metals mining company, the founder and Chairman of Canarc Resource Corp., a TSE listed gold explorer, and the founder of Aztec Metals, a private copper-gold prospect generator. Brad's expertise was in the financing, acquisition, exploration, discovery, development and production of gold and silver discoveries in the Americas.
Mr. Cooke was well known as an accomplished geologist with nearly five decades of experience in the metals and mining industry. Mr. Cooke was a vibrant member of the mining community and will be dearly missed. As a professional geologist and entrepreneur, he reated shareholder value for stakeholders around the world through discovery, development and operations in his long-standing successful career. He earned a reputation as an eternal optimist trying to shape the world for the greater good with constructive hard work.
Throughout all his success in business, he never forgot the difficulties of the less fortunate. He collaborated on numerous humanitarian projects over many years to make a positive difference. He instilled corporate social responsibility in all of his exploration and mining businesses. He also served as president of the Silver Institute, as an industry voice in creating public awareness of the silver industry.
Simon Dyakowski, CFA, MBA
President & CEO, Director
Mr. Dyakowski brings to Aztec over 12 years of corporate development and capital markets experience, with an expertise in strategic planning and execution, financing, and marketing of exploration companies.
Mr. Dyakowski most recently acted as an adviser to TSX Venture Exchange listed mineral exploration companies on their corporate development strategies. Mr. Dyakowski holds an MBA from the University of British Columbia, is a CFA charter holder and holds an undergraduate finance degree from the University of Western Ontario. He previously worked at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Royal Bank of Canada dealing with investment-grade and mid-market Canadian corporate clients. Mr. Dyakowski has also worked in the equity research and equity sales departments at Salman Partners and Leede Financial.
Patricio Varas, B.Sc., P. Geo.
Director
Mr. Varas has worked and collaborated with major and junior mining companies in exploration projects that span North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. He was involved in the discovery of the Diavik Diamond mine as a project manager while at Kennecott Canada Exploration Inc., a division of Rio Tinto plc, and was instrumental in the project management that led to the discovery of the Santo Domingo Sur deposit in Chile with Far West Mining Ltd. More recently, founder and former CEO of Western Potash Corp.
Mark Rebagliati, B.Sc., P. Eng.
Director
Mr. Rebagliati has worked in mineral exploration from 1966 to the present in Canada, USA, Mexico, South America, Africa, Europe, Caucasus and China. In 1986 he established Rebagliati Geological Consulting Ltd and in that year began a 28 year association with the Hunter Dickinson group of companies playing an instrumental role in the discovery of the Mt. Milligan, Southern Star, Kemess South, Kemess North (BC), Pebble East (Alaska), Xietongmen and Newtongmen (China) porphyry copper-gold deposits and a cluster of VMS Cu-Zn-Au-Ag deposits (Mexico).
Mr. Rebagliati is the recipient of AMEBC H. H. Huestis and Colin Spence awards for Excellence in Prospecting and Global Mineral Exploration, PDAC Bill Dennis and Thayer Lindsley Prospector of the Year and International Discovery awards, SME Robert Dreyer Award, and has been inducted into the Academy of Geological and Mining Sciences (MTU) and the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.
Jim Schilling
Director
Mr. James (Jim) Schilling is currently an independent investor who brings over 30 years of experience in the Canadian and U.S. financial markets. Mr. Schilling held a Series 7 Securities License at a U.S. based brokerage firm for over 19 years (from 1985 to 2004), as well as founder of West Coast Consulting (from 1992 to 2015), which was primarily focused in the natural resource industry.
Stewart Lockwood, LLB, MBA
Director and Corporate Secretary
Stewart Lockwood is a senior associate securities lawyer with over 25 years’ experience in corporate and securities law, currently with McCullough O’Connor Irwin LLP. From 1985 to 1991, Mr. Lockwood practised general, corporate and securities law with Weiler, Maloney, Nelson and Sobolewski, Anfield, following which he acted as listings officer with the Vancouver Stock Exchange where he reviewed public company listings and filings, prospectus offerings, financings, mergers and take-overs, share splits and consolidations and re-organizations. From 1992 to 2000, he was in-house legal counsel for Canarc Resource Corp. Mr. Lockwood was also Past Chairman of the B.C. Securities Commission Security Policy Advisory Committee. From 2001 to 2016, he was a partner with Vector Corporate Finance Lawyers where he specialized in corporate and securities law for resource-based companies.