Management Team

Mr. Dafoe has more than 30 years of industry experience in financial and operating positions of increasing responsibility. Prior to joining Ember, Mr. Dafoe was President and Chief Executive Officer of Thunder Energy Inc., a company he co-founded in 1996 and the predecessor company to Ember. Mr. Dafoe has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of North Dakota, is a Chartered Accountant and holds the ICD.D certification from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Mr. Dafoe has served on the Board of Governors of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and several TSX-listed companies. He currently serves on the Board of Akita Drilling Ltd., a TSX­ listed company and is also a director of the Orphan Well Association (O.W.A.)

Mr. Ryan is a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst with over 30 years of energy industry experience. Prior to joining Ember in 2005, he held senior finance positions with Drilcorp Energy Inc., Lateral Vector Resources Inc. and Vista International Petroleums Ltd., all publicly traded energy companies. Mr. Ryan graduated with a Bachelor of Administration Degree from the University of Regina, earned a Chartered Accountant designation while articling with predecessors to Deloitte LLP and earned a Chartered Financial Analyst designation. In addition, Mr. Ryan has served on the board of a TSX-listed energy company and the Canadian Television Fund.

Mr. Rafuse has held various roles in the energy industry for over 15 years. Mr. Rafuse returned to Ember in 2014, after four years of startup and consulting ventures in Canada, the US, India, Europe and the Middle East. Prior thereto, Mr. Rafuse was a geologist with Encana Corporation and Thunder Energy Inc., and then Ember in 2005 with a focus on CBM geology. Mr. Rafuse is a Professional Geologist with APEGA, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Calgary (2000), having also studied Engineering at Royal Roads Military College.

Mr. Ronaghan's engineering career has spanned 35 years in exploitation, evaluations and operations positions in the Canadian oil and gas industry. Mr. Ronaghan has held the position of Vice President of Engineering with Ember since 2005. Prior to his work with Ember, he was Manager Exploitation with Thunder Energy Inc. and Engineering Manager at Cypress Energy Inc. Prior to this, Mr. Ronaghan held positions with a number of junior and integrated oil and gas companies. Mr. Ronaghan graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Chemical Engineering) degree in 1985 from the University of Calgary and been a Professional Engineer with APEGA for over 30 years.

Mr. Zuorro is a professional landman with more than 35 years of land and related business development experience in the Canadian oil and gas industry. Mr. Zuorro has held progressively responsible positions with a number of public and private companies. Prior to joining Ember in 2005, he was Vice President Land with Thunder Energy Inc. and Thunder Energy Trust. Mr. Zuorro holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta (1978) and is a member of the Canadian Association of Land and Energy Professionals.

Mr. Merkley has worked on the service and operator side of the energy industry for over 20 years. Mr. Merkley started with Ember in 2006 and returned to Ember in 2014 after three years managing drilling and completion operations in Western Canada, Newfoundland and North Dakota. Prior to his work at Ember Mr. Merkley worked with Compass Directional Services, Enerplus Corporation and Magus Engineering. Mr. Merkley is a Professional technologist with ASET, earning a diploma in Petroleum Engineering Technology from SAIT (1999).

Mr. Rivard has worked in the energy industry since 2002 in various roles including software development, completions, and production operations. Prior to joining Ember in 2008, Mr. Rivard worked with Schlumberger (Merak), Trident Exploration, and Cordero Energy. Mr. Rivard is a Professional Engineer with APEGA, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary (2002).

Mr. Wignes is a Chartered Accountant with over 18 years of energy industry experience. Mr. Wignes joined Ember in the fall of 2020 after having previously worked for 11 years in the Perpetual Energy Inc. marketing department, most recently as the Manager Marketing, Transportation & Origination. In addition to his marketing experience Mr. Wignes held the role of Manager of Financial Reporting at Paramount Energy Trust. Mr. Wignes graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1999 from the University of Saskatchewan and earned a Chartered Accountant designation in 2002 while articling with Deloitte LLP.