Parent co. Biographies

Glenn Grant – President / CEO

Mr. Grant has over 35 years of project management experience in the oil and gas sector as well as the mining and natural resources industries in Canada, the United States and abroad. During this time, he has overseen many large scale development projects for international and Fortune 500 resource companies, and routinely managed budgets exceeding $30 million. He is currently President of Bower Solutions Ltd., an oil field services project management company based in Alberta, Canada.

Throughout his career as a project manager, Mr. Grant has directly managed teams of more than 200 people, while developing and refining his expertise in budgeting, operations management and scheduling, cost estimating and control, dispute resolution and personnel management. Additionally, he has applied his experience and strong interpersonal skills towards First Nations mediation in the Northern Canadian territories and managed sensitive projects in the Czech Republic for Gulf Oil Ltd. and in India for Niko Resources Inc. Mr. Grant's previous positions and assignments include successful projects with Penn West Energy Trust, Husky Energy, AMOCO, Tarragon Oil & Gas Ltd., Royal Trust Energy Corporation, Chevron Canada and Petro Canada Inc. His entrepreneurial activities further include former ownership of an agricultural machinery dealership, large farming operation and an oilfield equipment sales company. Mr. Grant holds a degree in Construction Engineering.  ggrant@acrlintl.com

Daniel Finch –  Vice President / COO

Dan Finch has started, managed and grown companies for over 30 years. He was the founding president of Westell, Inc. and left the company after seven years when annual sales hit $20 million. Later, as president of C-COR Electronics, Mr. Finch grew the company from $65 million to $135 million and the stock price went from $4.50 to $55.00 during his three years as president. Following this, Mr. Finch was Vice President for DSC in Texas where he managed over 200 employees and oversaw sales of $350 million. While in Dallas, he owned and managed a Management Recruiters operation with revenue exceeding $1,000,000 per year.

Mr. Finch serves on the boards of several energy related companies. He received his MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.  dfinch@acrlintl.com

Brian Grant - Board Member

Brian Grant is an important addition to the Atacama Board of Directors. Grant is a

seasoned senior executive with 30 years of experience in various local and international oilfield service companies. Grant has extensive knowledge and experience in increasing company revenues, both local and international, and in streamlining processes and sales and marketing strategies. His proven leadership and management skills, along with his ability to communicate on all levels, will provide Atacama with much needed guidance as the company meets the many challenges of growing a small cap mining development company.

Of particular note, Brian is responsible for a $300 million profit and loss center as the Senior Vice President, Industrial Services, Canada for Clean Harbors lnc. His responsibilities include; maintaining sales, operating and capital budgets and various cost savings initiatives. This involves ensuring compliance of operational units with overall corporate objectives.

Lastly, Brian provides leadership, direction and vision for future growth and development by ensuring that all team members are informed, aligned and accountable. These executive attributes are critical for a company with a very small senior staff such as Atacama Resources.

Don Swartz - Board Member

Don Swartz was President and founder (1973) of Effectiveness Resource Group, Inc., professional consultants who are devoted to helping individuals, groups and organizations increase effectiveness. Don is a Registered Organization Development Consultant, having met the performance and ethical standards of the Organization Development Institute. During his 42 plus years of organization development consulting, Don served over 500 clients throughout the US and Canada in public and private sectors, profit and not-for-profit. Representative clients include health care institutions, large Corporations like Boeing, Weyerhaeuser, Microsoft, Intel, Mellon Bank, Chase Manhattan Bank; Federal, State, Province and Local Government agencies; Associations like American Medical; many small business firms and start-up entrepreneurs. 

Don is former Corporate Manager of Training and Organization Development for the Weyerhaeuser Company. Prior to the 15 years with Weyerhaeuser his business career included successful assignments in engineering design, industrial sales, marketing, retail sales, pricing administration, personnel services and technical skills, sales and management training with Borg Warner's York Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Division.

Don graduated with honors as a mechanical engineer from Lehigh University. He joined Borg Warner Corporation in 1953 and the Weyerhaeuser Company in 1968. He became a full time organization development consultant in his own practice in 1975.

Ben Burkhardt - Board Member

Ben Burkhardt is an entrepreneur and business operator who has established, developed, and sold cannabis businesses for more than twenty years.  As its founder, he grew his company, Beyond Broadway LLC in Colorado, to 400 employees with retail sales exceeding $100 million.  Since that time, investment interests specific to precious metals and mining led him to an introduction to Atacama Resources International, where, for several years, he has gained familiarity with the Company's business plan and assets.  Residing in Texas, he will assist with fundraising, grant applications, and applicable investor relations as ACRL prepares to accrue and deploy key resources into exploration of precious metals and rare earth minerals.  bburkhardt@acrlintl.com