Bob Johnson Principal Director 

Bob Johnson is a director of JFA International and is UK London-based - specializing in development and visualization of global strategic thinking. He has been in the oil industry for 38 years of which 15 years has been as an international consultant. JFA was co-founded with David Finlayson in 1994. Bob holds a B.Sc from London University and has an M.Phil in Micropaleontology. His career began in the Western Canadian prairies as a geologist with Texaco. He subsequently became Chief Geologist with Burmah Oil, Exploration Manager and General Manager UKCS for the active mid-life phase of the North Sea with BNOC and Britoil and General Manager based in Jakarta for Britoil. Formal business training was at Manchester Business School. Consultancy assignments in South America created an opportunity to travel to almost every country there. One of Bob’s books – Latin Weekends – was published in 1999. Bob is a marathon runner and keen sailor – recently he and his wife took their 12 m sloop Penguin II from UK to cruise the Mediterranean.
 

David Finlayson Principal Director 
  
David Finlayson is a director of JFA International and is UK London area based - specialising in knowledge management, business processes and facilitation. He has been consulting since co-founding JFA in 1994. David holds a B.Sc in Physics from the University of Glasgow and M.Sc in Geophysics from Imperial College and has a 33 year career in the oil industry starting with prospect generation with Texaco in Texas and progressing through technical, exploration and asset management roles with Mobil, BP (and predecessor companies BNOC and Britoil) in Norway, Malaysia, UK and Australia. His consulting experience spans the globe. David received formal business training at INSEAD France through the International Executive Development programme. He was recently elected to the Council of Brunel University. His leisure interests outside the oil industry include dinghy racing and cycling. He also performs on the bagpipes with a London based pipe band!

Graham Bliss Principal Director  
  
Graham Bliss is a director of JFA International and is UK West Country-based – specializing in upstream economic screening, value solutions and uncertainty analysis.  He has had 26 years oil industry experience, having graduated with B.Sc. and Ph.D.’s in geology from Imperial College, London. He spent a year as a Royal Society Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oslo. Graham was an explorationist for BNOC/Britoil and Burmah Oil, working on both UK and international activities. He joined Chevron in 1987 where he was Manager of Evaluation Group for Europe and Middle East, responsible for overseeing portfolio and opportunity evaluations - subsequently becoming Strategic Planner for Chevron Europe. On leaving Chevron in 1997, Graham became established as an independent consultant – setting up IPE Consulting which specialized in international asset and opportunity evaluation and risk analysis. In February 2003, the evaluation skills of IPE Consulting were consolidated into JFA International. Graham’s interests outside the oil industry include golf and kiting. He is a member of the Governing Body of a local secondary school.

Dieter Strack  Senior Associate
  
Dieter Strack is a senior associate of JFA International and is based in Düsseldorf, Germany – specializing in upstream opportunity assessment, development of E&P strategies and in exploration portfolio management. He has worked as an independent consultant since 2001. Dieter holds an M.Sc. in geology from Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. He spent 19 years in technical and management positions with Deminex and 2 years as General Manager International New Ventures and Exploration Coordinator at Veba Oil & Gas. Previous positions at Deminex included longer-term international postings in Abu Dhabi, Norway, and UK.. He was also Exploration Manager for Syria, Chief Explorationist and Area Manager for Middle East/Caspian/Asia-Pacific. Dieter has extensive experience of international E&P activities, including Middle East and FSU. He is a member of the Environmental Protection and Safety Panel of the scientific Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) since 1997. In his spare time, he enjoys making music and pursuing outdoor activities with his family. 

Donna Kennedy-Glans Senior Associate

Donna Kennedy-Glans is a senior associate of JFA International and is based in Calgary, Canada. Donna’s expertise is drawn from more than 20 years of experience as a lawyer and business executive, representing large international corporations struggling to manage ‘above ground’ risk at head office and on the ground. She has pioneered and implemented best practices in the design, coordination and practical implementation of comprehensive risk assessment and management practices (including political risk, stakeholder engagement, government relations, community participation, security, business integrity and reputation management) in over thirty countries. Donna is founder of ‘Bridges’, a humanitarian social development fund supporting women in the Middle East and Africa, and the author of ‘Corporate Integrity: A Toolkit for Managing beyond Compliance’ published in in 2005 (www.integritybridges.com). She is a frequent speaker and workshop presenter at events and conferences around the world.

Jay Smith  Senior Associate
  
Jay Smith is a senior associate of JFA International and is based in Houston, Texas – specializing in strategy and management coaching. He has 35 years of technical, planning and general management experience with Shell, British Petroleum and two domestic US independents. He also has 5 years of full time consulting experience. His formal business training was at Harvard’s Program for Management Development. Jay is a lifetime physical fitness enthusiast and avid golfer.