Stephen Savidant has joined Canadian 88 Energy Corp. as president and CEO, effective immediately.

He replaces Joseph Pritchett, who retired Jan. 1 after taking over these roles in April 2000 from Canadian 88 founder Greg Noval.

Canadian 88 director George Watson, the former chief of TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. and now executive chairman of VerticalBuilder.com Inc., served as interim CEO.

Savidant was the former president and CEO of Canadian Hunter Exploration Ltd. Also effective immediately, Stephen Soules has been appointed senior vice- president of Canadian 88.

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Edmonton-based Brocker Technology Group Ltd. (BKI-TSX) has named Suray Sharma as interim chief financial officer, replacing Grant Hope.

Sharma will oversee Brocker’s financial operations in the Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Prior to joining Brocker, Sharma was most recently group finance manager for Kelton Investments Ltd. and the Datec Group.

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The merger of Calgary’s Great Northern Exploration Ltd. and Ascot Energy Resources Ltd. (AER-TSX Venture) will mean some changes at the senior level.

The new company, to be named Great Northern Exploration Ltd., will be led by president and CEO Jim Saunders. Bruce Robertson will serve as executive vice-president, while Scott Hickerty takes on the role of vice-president of exploration.

Previously, both men held leadership roles at Ionic Energy Inc.

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Mart Resources, Inc. is making some changes.

New board appointee Wade Cherwayko takes over as president and CFO from Vince Hamilton, who has resigned as president, CEO and CFO to pursue other interests. Hamilton will remain on the board.

Another board newcomer, Philip Nelson, has been appointed vice-president, exploration.

Cherwayko and Nelson both have significant experience in West Africa. Mart Resources, Inc. (MMT.V-TSX Venture) is actively pursuing oil, gas and power projects in West Africa.

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Gresham Resources Inc. has named Gordon Hoover as interim president. A company director since February 2000, he replaces the late Eric Gronberg.

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Lexi.com Ltd. has appointed Leanne McGeachy to the post of vice-president. McGeachy has extensive experience in the software industry and is currently enrolled in the EMBA program at the University of Calgary. She has been employed with Lexi.com in a project management role.

Lexi.com is a full-service hosting and web design company, based in Calgary and serving clients all across North America.

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Digital School Corp. has undergone a restructuring at the top.

Kelly McClung has resigned as president and director of the Edmonton-based educational and training company. A new management team has been implemented that includes Mia Matton (operations manager), Lincoln Suchit (business development and alliance manager), Jennifer Kovachich (student co-ordinator and technical manager) and Chris Suchit (sales and marketing manager).

The new management team will focus on expanding the school’s training services to address a growing demand for information technology and IT security professionals.

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Joan Barichello is the new regional director of the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program for Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

Barichello, who will be based in Edmonton, will have overall responsibility for innovation and industrial technology assistance to hundreds of firms in the region. She was most recently manager of strategic initiatives at WD (Western Economic Diversification).

She replaces Andy Gilliland, who has been moved into the position of director of stakeholder relations at Edmonton-based NINT.

The research council supports scientific research, development and innovation across Canada.

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