Donald S. Bubar, M.Sc., P. Geo, President and CEO

Don Bubar is a geologist with over 40 years of experience in mineral exploration and development in Canada. Mr. Bubar is a graduate of McGill University (B.Sc., 1977) and Queen’s University (M.Sc., 1981). From 1984 to 1994, he worked for Aur Resources Inc. as Exploration Manager and later VP, Exploration. Mr. Bubar has been President and CEO of Avalon since 1995.

Mr. Bubar served as a Director of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) for nine years and Chair of its Aboriginal Affairs Committee from its creation in December, 2004 until retiring from the PDAC Board in March, 2013. Throughout his career, Mr. Bubar has been an advocate for increased Indigenous participation in the mineral industry, first through the PDAC and later through the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines. Mr. Bubar serves on the Advisory Board to the Faculty of Science of McGill University and on the Board of Directors of PDAC's Mining Matters earth science education program.

R.J. (Jim) Andersen, CPA, CA, CPA (Illinois), CGMA, Vice President, Finance, Corporate Secretary and CFO 

Mr. Andersen is a Chartered Professional Accountant with 30 years of experience in the mining industry. He graduated with high distinction from the University of Toronto (B.Comm., 1991) and started his career with the mining services team at Coopers & Lybrand in Toronto, Ontario. He received his C.A. designation in 1993, after having placed 20^th in Ontario on the 1992 Uniform Final Exam.

Mr. Andersen began his own accounting practice in 1994 and was in charge of Avalon's audit from 1996 to 2000, prior to joining the company as its CFO in 2001.

Cindy Hu, CPA, CA, CPA (Illinois), Controller 

Ms. Hu joined Avalon in 2007. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Hu was a senior manager with the accounting firm Andersen & Company Professional Corporation. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over 20 years of experience in public accounting practice and financial reporting, primarily for junior public companies and private wealth management portfolios.

MS. Hu earned her B.Com from Laurentian University in 1996.

William Mercer Ph.D., P.Geo, Vice President, Exploration

Dr. Mercer has been VP, Exploration with Avalon since 2007. He enjoyed a 32-year career with the Noranda/Falconbridge group, ultimately serving as Director-Geology and Geochemistry.

Dr Mercer’s exploration career spans over 30 countries and a variety of commodities including base metals, gold, bauxite and rare metals. Dr. Mercer was also a “Champion of Six Sigma,” with training to Black Belt level, and responsible for the supervision of Six Sigma efficiency methods in exploration and closed mine sites. As corporate Director of Geology and Geochemistry, he had dual reporting responsibilities to the SVP-Exploration and SVP-Business Development and was a team member in assessment of major projects and mines for acquisition.

Dr. Mercer served as the President of the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences (CFES) from 2008 to 2010, and as President of the Prospectors and Developers Association (PDAC) from 2002 to 2004. He currently chairs the PDAC Health and Safety Committee. Dr. Mercer is the recipient of the David Barr Award from the Association for Mineral Exploration in British Columbia for excellence in leadership and innovation in mineral exploration health and safety; the PDAC Distinguished Service Award; and the Award for Environmental Excellence of the NWT Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists. In 2013 he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his service to the Canadian mining industry.

Mark Wiseman, BSc (Hon), MBA, Vice President, Sustainability

Mr. Wiseman is a biologist with over 40 years of health, safety, environment and social responsibility (HSEC) experience. He is a graduate of Guelph University (BSc, 1979) and Laurentian University (MBA, 1989). Following a period of acid rain research with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Mr. Wiseman joined Falconbridge Limited in 1980 and worked in progressively responsible HSEC positions in the mining industry, both in operations and large scale projects nationally and internationally. Prior to joining Avalon, Mr. Wiseman was Director of Health, Safety and Environment for Xstrata Nickel's Koniambo Project.

Mr. Wiseman has extensive experience in Social and Environmental Impact Assessment, permitting, HSEC management systems development and implementation, training, risk management, closure planning, auditing and due diligence assessment with the goal of continuous performance improvement. He has R&D experience as well as having developed and implemented innovative and leading edge environmental protection measures. He has participated and chaired numerous multi-stakeholder committees in the development of standards and regulations as well as managing relationships and requirements of local, national and international stakeholders.