Robert A.R. Mills B.Sc., P.Eng.

Chairman & Founder

Robert Mills, Chairman and founder of Kudu Industries Inc, is actively involved with the organization developing business in new markets international. Robert Mills began investigating progressing cavity systems for heavy oil application in 1977. Together with son, Ray Mills, they founded Kudu Industries Inc in 1989 to commercially distribute oilwell Progressing Cavity Pumps (PCPs) and driveheads for heavy oil wells in Canada’s Western Sedimentary basin. Since then the Company has evolved to provide a variety of oil and gas production equipment and corporate services. Robert Mills co-directed the growth of the company from an operation that began in the family garage to the company it is today with a head office and manufacturing facilities in Calgary, 10 field location across Alberta and Saskatchewan, locations in Kazakhstan and Australia, distributors in the US, Colombia, Russia, Venezuela, Japan and the Middle East with installations around the world. In 1998 the company needed to restructure and Robert Mills led the organization on the “Road to Lean” by implementing a new culture called “Lean thinking”. Mr. Mills lectures on lean manufacturing principles such as “Just in Time Manufacturing” and relates Kudu’s success incorporating Japanese manufacturing principles into practice. In 1998, Kudu was awarded as one of Canada’s Top 50 Best Managed Private Companies in Canada.

Ray G. Mills

CEO & Founder

Ray Mills, along with his father Robert A.R. Mills, founded Kudu Industries Inc. in 1989. Located in Calgary Alberta, currently he directs the vertically integrated Progressing Cavity Pump (PCP) company with operations in Canada, Colombia, Australia and Kazakhstan in addition to alliance partners in Venezuela, Colombia and France. Mills’ career with Kudu began as Sales & Service Manager. Mills’ direct contact with the customer and their challenges led to innovations that greatly increased the economic life, in some cases by a factor of two or three, of marginal medium and light gravity oil field in natural water drive reservoirs.

In 1993, Mills moved to California to lead Kudu’s growth strategy in the United States. The US market was difficult as PCP systems were considered new technology, and as such, risky. Mills overcame the difficulties and successfully introduced PCP technology and established operations in California, Texas and Wyoming. Customers included: Shell, PG & E, Unocal, Evergreen, Merit Oil & Gas and Kerr McGee.

Mills returned to Canada in 1995 as Vice President Sales & Operations. Mills implemented an aggressive growth strategy that doubled the size of the company by the end of 1997. In 1998 Kudu needed to re-structure as it was struggling with the sudden decline on the price of oil and the challenges left over from its rapid growth. Mills co-led the introduction of a new corporate culture called “Lean Thinking” with the goal of becoming a “World Class” company. In 2003 the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters and National Research Council (Canada) recognized Kudu as a World Class Manufacturer. Mills was promoted to the position of Chief Executive Officer of Kudu in 2003.

Alex Damjanovic

VP Sales & Business Development

Alex Damnjanovic joined Kudu in October 2003 to initiate the process of integrating sales, marketing, engineering and production. His goal is to leverage the relationships between the Kudu teams to optimize production and sales. Alex came to Kudu from Epcor Merchant & Capital where he worked in Sales and Business Development marketing natural gas and power in Alberta's deregulated markets. Prior to Epcor, he was an integral player in business development and marketing with Sunoco, (a division of Suncor) in Ontario’s deregulated natural gas market. Earlier experiences include owner and project engineer in the commercial construction industry with Daplex Mechanical Contractors Ltd.

Mr. Damnjanovic holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Manitoba, registered P. Eng and a MBA in Finance from Wilfrid Laurier.

Hans Gjerdrum

Director International Business Development

Hans Gjerdrum worked with Kudu Industries as a consultant in 2002 and became a team member with the company in 2003. Hans brought with him over 30 years of experience in the Oil & Gas Industry including production engineering, services, sales & marketing and management. Hans has a strong background in oilfield operations in North America and Europe and an established international network in South America, Europe, Russia, Middle East and Asia Pacific. In prior years, Mr. Gjerdrum has held positions with Gulf Oil Canada Ltd, Western Research & Development Ltd., General Electric Thermal Systems Inc./ Elf Aquitance. He served as Vice President for Legrand International Ltd., developing international sales of artificial lift systems.

Hans Gjerdrum holds a degree in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from Goteborgs Technical Institute, Sweden. He has studied Oil Field Operations at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. Hans is currently on the board of directors of Canada Eurasia Russian Business Association (CERBA), an organization linking Canadian companies to clients in the Former Soviet Union (FSU).

Kim Kappler, P.Eng

Engineering Manager

Kim Kappler joined Kudu Industries Inc in February 2005 as Engineering Manager. Mr. Kappler has a strong mechanical engineering background and offers extensive experience in equipment design for oil well equipment, as well has strong organizational abilities to manage engineering teams and to help promote communication between departments. Kappler has worked for oil related companies beginning his career in the industry with Drilmaster Canada Ltd, designing and testing downhole drilling motors and related tools. He served as Senior Design Engineer for Nowsco-Fracmaster, developing and testing new and innovative tools for coiled tubing projects. He has worked for Crown Technologies Inc. and came to Kudu from Tesco Corporation as Engineering Manager.

Kim Kappler holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Alberta and is a registered P.Eng.

Matthew Kenna

Chief Financial Officer, VP Field Operations

Matthew Kenna joined Kudu Industries as Chief Financial Officer in 1998. In 2000, he assumed the responsibility of Vice President Field Operations, in addition to his CFO role. His arrival at Kudu coincided with the introduction of the Lean Management concept and was largely responsible for its implementation in inventory management and shop layout. In addition to manufacturing, Matt has applied lean thinking to administration, distribution, warehousing, sales, and service. The results have been significant: inventory and production costs down; productivity and profit up. The freed up capital has allowed Kudu to react to market changes, which includes funding internal bids and bringing machining in-house. His experience implementing Lean Manufacturing was featured in Alberta Business Magazine.

Matt is a Certified Management Accountant. Prior to joining Kudu he was Controller for a construction company, a waste management division, and owner/operator of an accounting business.