Leadership

A tiered leadership model built for capital discipline, technical rigor, and frontier execution.

Xidar Analytics is led by a multidisciplinary team spanning board governance, geological authority, capital-markets depth, ESG, legal controls, logistics, and field delivery across the Horn of Africa.

Leadership model

The team is structured the way frontier programs actually work.

Board-level capital and governance oversight sit above specialist technical review, Canadian data and disclosure controls, and regionally grounded execution teams spanning Hargeisa, Addis Ababa, Mogadishu, Lusaka, and Dubai.

Leadership structure
7 tiers

Board oversight, technical advisors, Canadian controls, and regional field depth.

Team depth
34 professionals

Capital markets, geology, QA/QC, ESG, legal, drilling, and data infrastructure.

Operating footprint
Toronto + 5 satellite offices

Corporate governance anchored to regional execution capability across East Africa and the Gulf.

Oversight
Board, QP, ESG, legal, drilling

Independent review, disciplined controls, and execution readiness built into the structure.

Tier 1

Global Executive Leadership

Operating fluidly between the Canadian corporate hub and the African operational vanguard.

Non-Executive Chairman
RC

Richard T. Caulfield, MBA

Toronto, Canada

Canadian mining-finance heavyweight with more than 30 years of experience structuring, funding, and exiting junior and mid-tier exploration companies, including over $800 million raised for international assets.

Mandate

Guides capital allocation, M&A strategy, and valuation discipline so Xidar’s milestones remain aligned with institutional expectations.

Mining finance
M&A strategy
Institutional capital access
Independent Technical Director
WH

Dr. William "Bill" Harrison, Ph.D., P.Geo

Vancouver, Canada

Exploration executive with a 35-year career that includes serving as VP of Exploration for a tier-one gold producer and contributing directly to multiple multi-million-ounce discoveries in Precambrian terranes.

Mandate

Chairs technical oversight at the board level, auditing exploration methods, QA/QC frameworks, and independent technical reviews.

Technical oversight
Discovery record
QA/QC review
Independent Director (Chair of Audit Committee)
JM

Jonathan E. Mercer, CPA, CA

Calgary, Canada

Chartered Professional Accountant with 25 years of experience as CFO to TSX-listed resource companies, specializing in treasury governance, cross-border tax structure, and IFRS compliance.

Mandate

Protects treasury discipline and transparent reporting across frontier-jurisdiction operations and international corporate structures.

Financial governance
IFRS compliance
Cross-border structuring
Independent Director (Chair of Corporate Governance)
SC

Sarah L. Carmichael, LL.B., ICD.D

Montreal, Canada

Natural resources attorney and Institute of Corporate Directors member with deep experience in African mining law, mineral tenure, joint ventures, and anti-corruption compliance.

Mandate

Guides sovereign-rights strategy, governance controls, and corporate ESG compliance across complex international operating environments.

Natural resources law
Corporate governance
JV and tenure strategy
VP, Project Finance & Strategic Partnerships
ES

Eleanor V. Sterling, P.Eng, MBA

Toronto, Canada

Mining-finance executive with 15 years in private equity and TSX capital markets, focused on ensuring technical work converts into bankable project value.

Mandate

Structures joint ventures, farm-ins, and strategic partnerships that tie exploration progress to valuation milestones demanded by investors.

Project finance
Strategic partnerships
Capital markets alignment
Principal Geophysicist (Global)
RB

Dr. Robert H. Blackwood, Ph.D., P.Geo

Calgary, Canada (with targeted African deployments)

Applied geophysicist with over 25 years of experience interpreting airborne magnetic, radiometric, and gravimetric datasets across Precambrian shields worldwide.

Mandate

Extends surface-led targeting into deep crustal architecture and 3D inversion models for blind intrusive and sulfide targets.

Applied geophysics
3D inversion modelling
Deep target architecture
Lead Process Mineralogist & Metallurgical Advisor
SK

Dr. Sylvia R. Koenig, Ph.D.

Vancouver, Canada

Process mineralogist and metallurgical advisor with two decades of experience linking early-stage mineralogy to downstream processing behavior and economic extraction risk.

Mandate

Brings metallurgical thinking into exploration decisions so clients do not advance technically attractive but commercially refractory targets.

Process mineralogy
Metallurgical interpretation
Extraction risk screening
Independent Director (Chair of Sustainability & ESG)
EH

Dr. Evelyn R. Hughes, Ph.D.

Toronto, Canada

Globally recognized ESG specialist who has advised the IFC and World Bank on African mining policy and sustainability frameworks.

Mandate

Oversees community-impact logic, water stewardship, and Equator Principles alignment for institutionally credible project governance.

ESG integration
Institutional sustainability
Community impact governance
Independent Director (Engineering & Development)
TB

Thomas G. Bradford, P.Eng

Vancouver, Canada

Professional engineer and former COO of a mid-tier African gold producer, bringing a mine-builder’s perspective to exploration-stage evaluation.

Mandate

Tests targets against practical mine-development logic including infrastructure, strip ratio, and metallurgical viability.

Mine development logic
Engineering review
Acquirer perspective
Non-Executive Director (Capital Markets & M&A)
GS

Gregory M. Sinclair, CFA

Toronto, Canada

Capital-markets strategist and former mining private-equity partner focused on exit planning, treasury resilience, and shareholder value creation.

Mandate

Advises on IPO timing, spin-out structures, defensive strategy, and long-cycle capital preservation through commodity downturns.

Capital markets
Exit strategy
Treasury defence
Corporate Secretary & Legal Counsel
DM

Douglas C. McIntyre, LL.B.

Calgary, Canada

Senior securities-law specialist supporting board process, continuous disclosure, and legal compliance around strategic decisions and public communications.

Mandate

Ensures board actions, insider-sensitive events, and public communications are executed within Canadian securities-law requirements.

Securities law
Board compliance
Disclosure governance
Tier 1.5

Elite Global Technical Advisors

Fly-In / Fly-Out Western technical authorities providing independent peer review.

Principal Structural Consultant & Senior QP
JM

Dr. James C. MacAllister, Ph.D., FAusIMM

Perth, Australia / Vancouver, Canada

Globally recognized authority on shear-hosted and orogenic gold systems, serving as a qualified peer-review mechanism under both JORC and NI 43-101 expectations.

Mandate

Conducts structural audits of block models, trench data, and drill interpretations to strengthen project credibility with major mining counterparties.

Structural audits
JORC / NI 43-101 review
Independent validation
Senior QA/QC & Database Auditor
MF

Martin J. Fournier, MSc, P.Geo

Montreal, Canada

Independent data auditor with 20 years of experience reviewing geological databases, dispatch registers, insertion rates, and chain-of-custody systems for international mining groups.

Mandate

Ensures Xidar’s data architecture can withstand aggressive due-diligence and acquisition-stage scrutiny.

Database auditing
QA/QC architecture
Chain-of-custody review
Tier 2

Canadian Corporate Headquarters

The governance, data architecture, interpretation, and disclosure-control hub.

Lead Spatial Data Scientist
SC

Sarah O. Chen, MSc

Vancouver, Canada

Computational geologist with 12 years of experience building predictive targeting models for mid-tier miners across Africa and South America.

Mandate

Turns planetary-scale telemetry into high-probability, structurally controlled target zones using spatial statistics, GIS, and spectral unmixing.

Spatial statistics
GIS workflows
Spectral targeting
Independent Qualified Person (QP) / Principal Consultant
DM

David R. MacIntyre, P.Geo

Toronto, Canada

Professional geoscientist with more than 25 years of international mineral exploration experience and a long record of authoring NI 43-101 technical reports on African assets.

Mandate

Provides audit-ready review of field methods, QA/QC datasets, and laboratory integrations prior to any public-market disclosure.

Qualified Person review
NI 43-101 reporting
Disclosure control
Principal Geochemist
AV

Dr. Alistair Vance, Ph.D., P.Geo

Vancouver, Canada

Applied geochemist with more than 15 years of experience interpreting multi-element assays through multivariate statistics to isolate subtle pathfinder halos.

Mandate

Audits ISO 17025 laboratory returns and converts raw assay datasets into exploration-grade geochemical intelligence.

Applied geochemistry
Multivariate assay analysis
Laboratory audit review
Senior Resource Modeller & Geostatistician
JT

Jean-Paul Tremblay, MSc, P.Geo

Montreal, Canada

Geostatistician and 3D modeller with 12 years of experience using implicit modelling platforms such as Leapfrog Geo to refine structural and lithological targeting.

Mandate

Builds subsurface wireframes, fault geometries, and precise drill-collar concepts that support higher-confidence drilling decisions.

3D modelling
Geostatistics
Drill-collar planning
Senior Structural Geologist (Field Lead)
MK

Dr. Marianne V. Koster, Ph.D.

Somaliland / Regional Deployments

Structural geologist with 10 years of Precambrian shield field mapping experience and specialist depth in shear zones, breccias, and fault kinematics.

Mandate

Transitions digital targets into executable field reality by leading reconnaissance and mapping structurally controlled fluid pathways with RTK precision.

Structural mapping
Field leadership
RTK precision control
Tier 3

Somaliland Operational Headquarters

The execution, logistics, compliance, and field-vanguard core based around Hargeisa.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Regional
NH

Nouradin Abdirahman HNour

Dual Presence (Canada / Somaliland)

Strategic architect of Xidar Analytics with more than a decade of experience across institutional development, development economics, policy formulation, and project governance in the Horn of Africa.

Mandate

Leads regional execution strategy, mineral-rights engagement, stakeholder diplomacy, and the link between international capital and frontier implementation.

Regional strategy
Mineral rights negotiation
Stakeholder engagement
Director of Regional Operations & Logistics
HA

Hamse Mohamed Ahmed

Hargeisa, Somaliland

Leads frontier logistics, fly-camp deployment, 4x4 fleet execution, supply-chain continuity, and cross-border sample export coordination.

Mandate

Keeps programs moving through customs, ministry protocols, and secure transport to global ISO-accredited laboratories.

Regional logistics
Sample export coordination
Field operations
VP, Corporate Development & Regional Compliance
OD

Omar Osman Doualeh

Hargeisa, Somaliland

Corporate-development and compliance lead connecting regional execution with the governance demands of Western capital markets and international counterparties.

Mandate

Leads JV negotiation, corporate risk oversight, and regional compliance framing so operational outputs remain institutionally credible.

Corporate development
Regional compliance
Risk and JV negotiation
Senior Remote Sensing & Spectral Geologist
RD

Rashid A. Duale, MSc

Hargeisa, Somaliland

Earth observation specialist with 8 years of experience processing multispectral and hyperspectral imagery including ASTER, Landsat 9, and Sentinel-2 in arid terrains.

Mandate

Maps hydrothermal halos, gossan expressions, and structural lineaments before field teams are deployed.

ASTER / Landsat / Sentinel
Spectral geology
Alteration mapping
QA/QC & Sample Governance Manager
AF

Abdirizak Farah, BSc

Hargeisa, Somaliland

Exploration database and sample-dispatch manager with 7 years of East African experience overseeing digital chain-of-custody and QA/QC insertion protocols.

Mandate

Protects data credibility through tamper-evident systems, logging discipline, and ongoing laboratory performance auditing.

Sample governance
QA/QC insertion design
Dispatch controls
Tier 3.5

Regional Operational Vanguard

Expanding technical depth and social license to operate across Africa.

Director of ESG, Health & Safety, and Community Relations
FH

Fatima Hassan, MSc

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Overseeing Horn of Africa Region)

Environmental-management specialist with a decade of experience aligning African natural resource projects with IFC standards, land-access frameworks, and operational safety requirements.

Mandate

Secures social license, community trust, and ISO 45001-oriented field compliance across regional deployments.

ESG integration
Community relations
Health and safety compliance
Principal Geophysicist (Regional Expert)
SO

Dr. Samuel O. Ojo, Ph.D.

Nairobi, Kenya

Regional geophysicist with 20 years of experience across the East African Rift System and Arabian-Nubian Shield, integrating airborne magnetic, radiometric, and gravity datasets.

Mandate

Provides the subsurface geophysical layer that remote sensing alone cannot capture, especially for blind heat sources and deep architecture.

Regional geophysics
Airborne dataset integration
Subsurface architecture
Senior Field Geologist & Drill Manager
KT

Kaleb Tadesse, BSc

Field-Deployed (Somaliland / Ethiopia)

East African field veteran with 12 years of experience managing trenching, diamond core, and RC drilling programs in line with geological models and budget expectations.

Mandate

Bridges advanced field geology with contractor control, drill-site execution, and rig-to-truck sample discipline.

Drill program management
Field geology
Contractor coordination
Tier 3.6

Regional Operational Vanguard

The backbone of active drilling, ground execution, and community integration.

Exploration Manager (Horn of Africa)
MT

Marcus V. Thorne, BSc, P.Geo

Regional Deployments (Ethiopia / Kenya / Somaliland)

Exploration manager with 15 years of boots-on-the-ground experience managing multimillion-dollar field budgets and simultaneous programs across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Mandate

Connects the Canadian executive team to African field crews through contractor tendering, logistics negotiation, and disciplined burn-rate control.

Exploration management
Budget execution
Regional logistics
Core Logging & Project Geologist
TH

Tariq A. Hassan, BSc

Active Drill Sites (Somaliland Basement Complex)

Project geologist with six years of direct experience logging diamond core and RC chips in shear-hosted gold systems from core shed to sampling dispatch.

Mandate

Oversees core handling, lithology and structural logging, sampling discipline, and physical chain-of-custody once drilling begins.

Core logging
Project geology
Sampling control
Community Liaison & Land Access Negotiator
ZA

Zahra M. Ali, MA

Hargeisa, Somaliland (Extensive Field Travel)

Stakeholder and land-access specialist with a decade of experience negotiating with pastoralist communities, regional elders, and artisanal mining cooperatives.

Mandate

Protects social license and reduces operational delays by resolving community concerns and surface-rights friction early.

Land access negotiation
Community engagement
Surface-rights coordination
Tier 3.7

Legal, Environmental, and Heavy Operations

The legal, infrastructure, hydrogeological, drilling, and systems layer behind field continuity.

Director of Mineral Tenure & Government Affairs
ID

Ibrahim S. Dualeh, LLM

Hargeisa, Somaliland (with regional travel to Addis Ababa and Nairobi)

Natural-resources lawyer with 12 years of experience negotiating licences, farm-ins, concession boundaries, and statutory compliance across ministries and cross-border jurisdictions.

Mandate

Ensures programs remain legal, tenement obligations are protected, and sovereign risk is managed before it reaches the client.

Mineral tenure
Government affairs
Legal risk control
Principal Hydrogeologist
CB

Dr. Claire H. Bennett, Ph.D., P.Geo

Vancouver, Canada (with targeted African deployments)

Hydrogeologist with 15 years of arid-region groundwater modelling experience focused on environmental baselines, aquifer definition, and dewatering logic.

Mandate

Ensures exploration and future development concepts remain hydrologically viable in water-constrained terrains across the Arabian-Nubian Shield.

Hydrogeology
Groundwater modelling
Environmental baselines
Global Drilling Superintendent
TM

Thomas "Mac" Macready

Fly-In / Fly-Out (Operating across active East African drill sites)

Veteran driller with 25 years of experience managing heavy diamond core and RC rigs across Africa and the Middle East on behalf of clients and operators.

Mandate

Audits contractors, mud systems, safety, and recovery metrics to keep drilling execution technically disciplined and financially efficient.

Drilling supervision
Contractor auditing
Core recovery control
Remote Camp & Supply Chain Commander
YA

Yusuf M. Ali, BEng

Regional Hubs (Somaliland / Ethiopia)

Engineering-trained remote-logistics specialist with a decade of experience sustaining field crews, diesel supply, fleet maintenance, and medevac readiness in frontier settings.

Mandate

Ensures geological teams keep moving without operational interruption caused by camp or logistics failure.

Remote camp logistics
Fleet and fuel systems
Emergency response readiness
Remote Systems & Data Infrastructure Lead
DC

Daniel R. Chen, BSc, CISSP

Canada (Deploying architecture globally)

Cybersecurity and remote-systems specialist designing encrypted satellite-linked infrastructure that connects field camps to Canadian cloud environments in near real time.

Mandate

Protects proprietary geological data and prevents catastrophic loss through rugged remote-network architecture and disciplined cloud backup systems.

Remote IT architecture
Data security
Field-to-cloud systems
Start a conversation

Need to speak with the team behind strategy, data, field execution, or technical review?

Use the contact page or assessment flow to frame the project, and Xidar can route the conversation to the relevant executive, geological, or operational lead.