James Riddell
Chairman and President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Riddell has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Paramount since May 2015 and Chairman of the Board since November 2018. Mr. Riddell served as President and Chief Operating Officer from June 2002 to May 2015 and in various positions at Paramount from May 1991 until June 2002.

Mr. Riddell graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and from the University of Alberta with a Master of Science degree in Geology and is currently a member of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

Bernard Lee
Executive Vice President, Finance

Mr. Lee has been the Executive Vice President, Finance of Paramount since September 2017 and was Chief Financial Officer from May 2003 to March 2020. Prior to joining Paramount, Mr. Lee held various senior finance positions with Alberta Energy Company and its successor EnCana, a predecessor entity of Ovintiv.

Mr. Lee was a member of the Management Advisory Council of the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary from 2014 to 2020 and served on the Board of Hospice Calgary from 2018 to 2020.

Mr. Lee graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Commerce degree (with distinction) and a Master of Business Administration degree.  He has also completed the Ivey Executive Program offered by the University of Western Ontario.  Mr. Lee was granted the designation of Certified Management Accountant in 1979 by the Society of Certified Management Accountants of Canada.

Paul Kinvig
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Kinvig has been the Chief Financial Officer of Paramount since March 2020.  He served as the Company’s Vice President Finance, Capital Markets from September 2017 to March 2020 and in roles with increasing responsibilities since joining Paramount in 2005.  Prior to joining Paramount, Mr. Kinvig was a Senior Tax Manager at Deloitte LLP, where he advised clients on corporate tax matters.  Prior thereto, he worked in the corporate finance group of Alberta Energy Company, a predecessor entity of Ovintiv, where his work focused on acquisitions and financing and at Deloitte LLP.

Mr. Kinvig graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and is a CPA, CA.

D. Blake Reid
Executive Vice President, Operations

Mr. Reid is Executive Vice President, Operations with Paramount. Prior to joining Paramount in June of 2017, he held several leadership roles for a large, integrated oil and gas company, including District Manager of Operations for a major oil sands project, Asset Manager for Alberta Foothills, and Engineering Manager at one of the largest sour-gas plants in Western Canada.

Mr. Reid serves on the Board of the Orphan Well Association.

A Professional Engineer with over 25 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, Mr. Reid obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Calgary in 1995 and an MBA with specialization in Project Management from Athabasca University in 2006.

Rodrigo Sousa
Executive Vice President, Corporate Development & Planning

Mr. Sousa is Executive Vice President, Corporate Development & Planning, and has been with Paramount since November 2017.  Prior to joining, Mr. Sousa served as Vice President of Corporate Development at Athabasca Oil Corporation. Prior thereto, Mr. Sousa was a Managing Director at TD Securities Inc. and Head of TD Energy Advisors.

Mr. Sousa is currently a director of (i) Canadian Premium Sand Inc., a TSX Venture Exchange listed company that has initiated plans to build and operate an industry-leading sustainable glass manufacturing facility in Manitoba and (ii) Sultran Ltd., a private, independently managed company focused on providing reliable and competitive supply chain solutions for bulk commodities across Western Canada.

Mr. Sousa earned a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) with Distinction from the University of Calgary and is a CFA charter holder.

Garth Stotts
Executive Vice President, Development and Reserves

Mr. Stotts is Executive Vice President, Development and Reserves at Paramount. He is responsible for leading an integrated subsurface and data analytics team of engineers and geoscientists to optimize capital asset development for maximum value and return. Mr. Stotts is also responsible for the portfolio ranking, corporate reserves, exploration, water disposal and advanced data analytics. Prior to joining Paramount in May of 2017, he was Chief Reservoir Engineer at SM Energy Company and a Sr. Reservoir Engineer at EOG Canada. 

Mr. Stotts earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering (with Distinction) from the University of Alberta.

John Williams
Executive Vice President, Kaybob Region

Mr. Williams rejoined Paramount as Executive Vice President, Kaybob Region in September 2017. Mr. Williams first joined Paramount in 1998. During the next eight years, Mr. Williams held a series of positions with increasing responsibility, ultimately holding the position of Corporate Operating Officer at Paramount from March 2003 through to May 2006. In April 2005, Mr. Williams was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Trilogy Energy Corp. when it was spun out from Paramount, and in May 2010, he was appointed President.

Mr. Williams graduated from the University of Alberta in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Geology. He is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta and is currently on the Board of Governors for the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada.

Mark Franko
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Mr. Franko is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Paramount. Prior to joining Paramount in 2018, Mr. Franko practiced corporate and securities law as a partner at two national law firms, was General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of a TSX-listed exploration and production company and acted as legal counsel to the Alberta Securities Commission.

Mr. Franko graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1997.

Michael Han
Vice President, Information Services and Corporate Services

Mr. Han joined Paramount as Vice President, Information Services in December 2014 and was appointed Vice President, Information Services and Corporate Services in September 2017. Mr. Han has more than 25 years of experience working in the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining Paramount, he worked at Imperial Oil and ExxonMobil for over 18 years. 

Mr. Han graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. 

Phil Tahmazian
Vice President, Midstream and Marketing

Mr. Tahmazian is Vice President, Midstream and Marketing. He has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry in Alberta.  Mr. Tahmazian joined Paramount in 2013 after 13 years at Encana (a predecessor entity of Ovintiv) where his most recent role was Vice President, Canadian Midstream.  Prior to that, he worked at Petro-Canada and TransCanada Pipelines in both technical engineering and commercial roles.  

Mr. Tahmazian is a graduate of the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance. He is also a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.

Joerg Wittenberg
Vice President, Grande Prairie Region

Mr. Wittenberg is Vice President, Grande Prairie Region. He previously held the position of Corporate Operating Officer for the Grande Prairie Business Unit from 2008 to 2017. Mr. Wittenberg has been engaged as a geologist in oil and gas exploration and development for over 30 years. Mr. Wittenberg joined Paramount in 2002 after having previously contributed to the success of a variety of intermediate Canadian upstream oil and gas firms as a petroleum geologist.

Mr. Wittenberg graduated from The University of Alberta with Bachelor of Science degree (Honours) and Master of Science degree in Geology (1988, 1992). Mr. Wittenberg is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta, the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.