GeoPark Ltd., which works in Latin America, appointed Michael D. Dingman to its board of directors, effective Jan. 1, the company said Jan. 4.

Currently, Dingman is founder, president and CEO of the Shipston Group private investment firm.

Dingman previously was a partner at Burnham & Co., and also worked as chairman, CEO, or president of corporations including Wheelabrator-Frye, Signal, AlliedSignal, the Henley Group and Fisher-Scientific.

Dingman was a director of Ford Motor Co. for 21 years, and then Time and Time Warner for 24 years, the Mellon Bank and Teekay Shipping, among other companies.

He has more than 50 years of investment experience and has built companies and conglomerates in the U.S. and emerging markets.

He founded the Michael D. Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland, which provides mentoring services to emerging growth companies around the world.