_edited.png){kind=logo}
Summit Speakers
Young-Jin Chang
Managing Director and Global Head, Metals Products, CME Group
Young-Jin (Jin) Chang serves as CME Group’s Managing Director and Global Head of Metals Products. She is responsible for leading the strategic development, management and profitability of the company’s global metals business across the entire metals complex. She has served in roles of increasing responsibility within the metals business line since joining CME Group in 2011. Chang also serves on CME Group’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, which is responsible for driving the company’s D&I strategy.0
Prior to joining CME Group, Chang was a ferrous alloy trader at the David J. Joseph Company, where she focused on expanding international trading business.
She holds an international MBA in economics and finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from Kalamazoo College. Chang serves as a member of the board of trustees at Kalamazoo College and was named to Crain’s Chicago Business 40 under 40 list for 2019. She is also a member of World 50.
Ruth Crowell
CEO, LBMA
Ruth was appointed Chief Executive of the LBMA in January 2014. She is responsible for the success and strategic development of the LBMA, in partnership with the Chairman and the Board. She is also responsible for maintaining accountability to and the quality of, the Association's Membership and Good Delivery Refiners as well as representing the interests of the Association in relation to regulators, investors, media and international precious metals markets.
Before being appointed Chief Executive, she spent seven years working in the Association. She has represented the Association at industry, governmental and multi-stakeholder regulatory forums. She continues to serve as Vice Chair of the OECD Multi-Stakeholder Governance Group for Responsible Minerals.
Prior to joining the LBMA, she worked in bank finance and US corporate law at the law firms of White & Case and Norton Rose, and also acted as a monitor at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. She has an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and a degree in English Literature from Kenyon College in Ohio.
Sébastien de Montessus
CEO, Endeavor Mining
Sébastien de Montessus is President and CEO of Endeavour Mining. Under his leadership, he has introduced key strategic objectives that have created a sustainable business that generates long term cash flow.
Previously, Sébastien served as the CEO of the La Mancha Group for four years between 2012 and 2016. Under his leadership, La Mancha doubled its production through optimisation efforts before undergoing a significant portfolio restructuring. Prior to this, Sébastien was a member of the Executive Board and Group Deputy CEO of AREVA Group, a leading nuclear energy company and CEO of AREVA Mining, which focused on uranium assets. He has also served as a Board member of Evolution Mining (2015 - 2018) and ERAMET (2010 - 2012).
Before joining AREVA in 2002, Sébastien was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley in London specialising in M&A and Equity Capital Markets. Sébastien is a business graduate from ESCP-Europe Business School in Paris.
Alex Edmans
Professor of Finance, London Business School
Alex is Professor of Finance at London Business School and Academic Director of the Centre for Corporate Governance, and has a particular focus on corporate finance and responsible business.
He has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, presented to the World Bank Board of Directors as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series, and given two TED talks.
He has written for the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Harvard Business Review and World Economic Forum and been interviewed by Bloomberg, BBC, CNBC, CNN, ESPN, Fox, ITV, NPR, Reuters, Sky News, and Sky Sports.
Alex graduated from Oxford University and then worked for Morgan Stanley in investment banking (London) and fixed income sales and trading (New York).
After a PhD in Finance from MIT Sloan as a Fulbright Scholar, he joined Wharton in 2007 and was tenured in 2013 shortly before moving to LBS
Belinda Ellington
MD, General Counsel, Global Commodities, ESG, Citigroup Global Markets
Belinda is MD and General Counsel at Citi, based in London, her roles include leading the Global Commodities legal team, and providing legal support for ESG in Global Markets and the Citi Climate Risk Committee. Belinda came to Citi 9 years ago from Deutsche Bank, where she led the Global Commodities legal team.
Belinda has been advising on commodities financing and markets for more than 20 years, with her experience, combined with her knowledge of the legal framework of the path to Net Zero, Belinda is part of the Citi team helping clients through this period of transition.
Paul Fisher
Chairman, LBMA
After a 10-year academic career, Dr Paul Fisher was a senior figure at the Bank of England for 26 years, retiring at the end of July 2016. He was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, the interim Financial Policy Committee and the PRA Board. During the Great Financial Crisis he worked in the Markets Area of the Bank, from March 2009 as Executive Director responsible, amongst other things, for the Bank’s programme of asset purchases for quantitative easing.
In June 2014 he was appointed Deputy Head of the Prudential Regulation Authority. Previously, from 2002, he ran the Bank’s Foreign Exchange Division where he had a constructive relationship with LBMA and developed a working knowledge of the bullion market.
Since leaving the Bank he has been working on Climate Change and Sustainability in the financial sector, including for the EC. He has also been writing on matters of financial stability, policy co-ordination and governance, competition policy, supervision and regulation.
Among a range of outside positions he is a Non-Executive Director at the UK Debt Management Office; Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership; Senior Research Fellow at the DAFM centre, King’s College Business School; and he is a Visiting Professor in Economics and Finance at Richmond University, the American International University in London.
Mark Hanna
Chief Marketing Officer, Richline Group Inc.
Mark has worked over 50 years in the jewelry industry with experience in all facets of management, manufacturing, marketing, sales and corporate responsibility.
He graduated Manhattan College in Science and NYU Stern with an MBA in Marketing.
In 2015 and 2018, Mark was honored as CMO of Year, Corporate Social Responsibility, by the CMO Club. In 2019, he was the recipient of the Women’s Jewelry Association Mentorship Award.
Mark is an active speaker and advocate on responsible issues. He has served as a board member of Richline, Special Olympics, Resolve, Mercury Free Mining and the Responsible Jewellery Council.
Terry Heymann
Chief Financial Officer, World Gold Council
Terry Heymann is CFO at the World Gold Council and has broad experience across the gold supply chain.
In addition to his role as CFO and Company Secretary, Terry also oversees the World Gold Council’s initiatives on standard-setting, including development of the Responsible Gold Mining Principles, the Conflict-Free Gold Standard and the Guidance Note on All-In Costs, all of which support increased transparency and integrity in the gold industry.
Terry also leads the World Gold Council’s programme of work around ESG, including supporting further progress by the gold industry in helping to deliver the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and address climate change.
Prior to joining the World Gold Council, Terry was a Principal at Marakon Associates, a leading strategy consultancy, where he helped clients in several industries on strategic issues and new product development.
Gavin Hilson
Professor and Chair of Sustainability in Business, Surrey Business School
Gavin Hilson is Professor and Chair of Sustainability in Business at the Surrey Business School, University of Surrey.
He is a leading global authority on the environmental and social impacts of artisanal and small-scale mining in sub-Saharan Africa, publishing, over the past two decades, over 350 journal articles, book chapters and reports on the subject.
He is also founder and editor-in-chief of the international journal, The Extractive Industries and Society. Professor Hilson received Bachelor’s and Masters degrees from the University of Toronto, and his PhD from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine.
Christian Hofer
Head, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Raiffeisen Switzerland
Dr. Christian Hofer is responsible for enhancing and implementing Raiffeisen’s sustainability strategy and sustainability reporting and for managing sustainability related projects at corporate and product level. Raiffeisen Switzerland is the third largest Swiss Bank. As a cooperative bank, it focuses on the Swiss retail market. Sustainability is one of the bank’s strategic priorities.
Before joining Raiffeisen, Christian Hofer represented Switzerland in the Board of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) in Washington, DC. His engagement for the IDB Group included membership of the Audit, Budget and Financial Policies and Executive Committees. The IDB Group supports sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean through financial and technical support.
Christian Hofer also worked for the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in Bern, Switzerland. SECO is Switzerland’s competence center for all key economic policy issues. For SECO, Christian Hofer coordinated high-level official economic dialogues between Switzerland and Asian partner countries including several presidential and ministerial exchanges and session of Switzerland’s bilateral economic commissions with Asian countries. He also coordinated WTO trade in services negotiations and represented Switzerland in technical WTO bodies.
Christian Hofer also supported the Berghof Foundation for Conflict Studies in Sri Lanka, Colombo as program manager and is currently a member of the Swiss Climate Foundation’s Board of Trustees and the Swiss Better Gold Association’s Board.
Tom Holl
Director, Natural Resources, BlackRock
Thomas Holl, Director and portfolio manager, is a member of the Natural Resources team within the Fundamental Equity division of BlackRock.
He is responsible for various portfolios focused on the gold, mining, natural resources and nutrition sectors.
His service with the firm dates back to 2006, including his years with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM), which merged with BlackRock in 2006.
Benjamin Katz
Policy Analyst, Responsible Business Conduct Unit, Investment Division, OECD
Ben Katz has been a policy analyst for responsible mineral supply chains at the OECD’s Centre for Responsible Business Conduct since early 2019.
His work at the OECD focusses on sourcing of cobalt, critical minerals and base metals, mineral sourcing from Central Africa and measuring the uptake and impact of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains.
He has over a decade of experience working on responsible sourcing of minerals and natural resource governance in the Great Lakes Region and beyond.
Prior to the OECD, Ben spent four years implementing responsible sourcing projects related to due diligence, traceability, and formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Joanne Lebert
Executive Director, IMPACT
Joanne joined IMPACT in 2011 and leads their work to improve how natural resources are managed where security and human rights are at risk. Her work has focused on contributing to responsibly-sourced, conflict-free minerals and she has helped Central African governments launch and implement a regional strategy to tackle conflict minerals. Joanne is a policy advisor, frequent guest speaker, and trainer to policymakers, private sector representatives, and civil society organizations.
Previously, Joanne was based at the University of Ottawa’s Human Rights Research and Education Centre. She focused on gender-based violence in conflict settings in Africa and how it is impacted by the extractives industry. She was also Deputy Director of the Canadian non-profit, Peacebuild, where she worked to strengthen Canadian foreign policy options and practice. She carried out anthropological fieldwork for her doctoral studies in Namibia and Angola and was a Visiting Fellow in Refugee Studies at the University of Oxford.
She has lectured at Carleton University and worked for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, Amnesty International, and CARE International in Zambia.
Alan Martin
Head of Responsible Sourcing, LBMA
Alan manages the LBMA’s Responsible Sourcing Programme for precious metals, which is mandatory for all Good Delivery List Refiners.
Prior to joining the LBMA, Alan spent over a decade carrying out investigative research into the intersection between natural resources, human rights and illicit financial flows.
As the former director of research at IMPACT he has an intimate understanding of the challenges and vulnerabilities to responsible sourcing in the artisanal mining sector, trading and refining hubs and jewellery manufacturing centres.
A journalist by training he spent over a decade working in journalism in Canada, the UK and various countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Born and raised in Southern Africa, he holds a Master’s degree in conflict and development from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.
Ben McEwen
Climate Change Investment Analyst, Sarasin & Partners LLP
Ben is responsible for evaluating the investment implications of climate change and integrating these risks and opportunities into portfolios.
Prior to joining Sarasin & Partners in 2018, Ben worked for RBC and CIBC as an Equity Research Analyst covering global natural resources. He has also worked in audit and assurance for PwC in London, and as a commodities economist in Sydney, Australia.
Ben is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, holds a Certificate in Economics of Competing Energy Technologies from Stanford University and graduated the Global MBA at Imperial College London with Distinction.
Sakhila Mirza
General Counsel & Executive Board Director, LBMA
In her role as General Counsel of the London Bullion Market Association and also an Executive member of the LBMA Board, Sakhila has been involved in, and taken the lead on a number of projects of the Association.
This has included, but not limited to: working closely with the CEO on the strategic direction of the LBMA; transitioning all of the four precious metals benchmarks onto electronic platforms by working with the service providers as well as regulators; leading the draft and launch of the Precious Metals Code; working with external service provider to enhance transparency in the precious metals market by launching the LBMA trade reporting initiative; and providing for lobbying efforts on behalf of members on a number of issues, for example EU Conflicts Minerals regulation, Net Stable Funding Ratio amongst other regulations.
In addition to this, Sakhila takes responsibility for all the legal and regulatory work of the Association and that of London Precious Metals Clearing Limited (LPMCL). She is involved in setting policies and leading the incident management process within the LBMA by working with various external stakeholders to help with decision making. She has also focused on meeting and building relationships with governmental officials and regulators and continues to educate all such stakeholders on the dynamics of the bullion market and all the work undertaken by the LBMA.
Gregory Mthembu-Salter
Director, Phuzumoya Consulting
Gregory Mthembu-Salter is the director of Phuzumoya Consulting, a South Africa-based company specialising in due diligence, political economy research and analysis, with a particular focus on Southern and Central Africa.
He is a former member of the UN Group of Experts on the DRC, reporting to the UN Security Council, and wrote the Group’s due diligence guidelines for companies sourcing and trading minerals from conflict areas.
He has conducted and had published extensive research on supply chains of artisanal gold from the DRC and East Africa. He is also an author - Gregory’s first book, ‘Wanted Dead And Alive’ was published in 2019.
John Mulligan
Director of Market Relations and Climate Change Lead, World Gold Council
John is Director of Market Relations and Climate Change Lead at the World Gold Council, managing its climate change research programme and its associated engagement activity with investor groups and stakeholder organisations. Additionally, John contributes to the organisation’s wider insight and communication outputs. He has written extensively and comments regularly on gold market dynamics, investment strategy and sustainability issues.
John joined the World Gold Council in early 2005, working initially on investment research and investor outreach and, later, on projects examining gold's wider socio-economic, development and sustainability impacts. He has worked in or around the financial markets for over 25 years, including senior roles in business development, product management, trading systems, and market analysis.
Beyond gold and finance, John has also consulted on research, business analysis and knowledge management projects for a wide range of clients, from SMEs to supranational organisations. John has degrees from the University of Sussex and Birkbeck College, University of London.
Christophe Nicolet
Managing Director at PX Précinox SA
Christophe Nicolet is Managing Director at PX Précinox SA in Switzerland.
He is as well currently Board member of Patric concept SA active in design and creation of custom-made machines and industrial equipment systems.
Christophe Nicolet is Jury member of the Swiss Venture Club.
Before joining PX Group Christophe held several Top Management positions at FELCO SA and at the Swatch Group Ltd in South-East Asia and Switzerland.
Christophe Nicolet holds a Bachelor of Science - Mechanical Engineer from the School of Engineers Lausanne and attended the School of Business Administration in Neuchatel and at the IMD in Lausanne.
Jennifer Peyser
Vice President, Responsible Sourcing, RMI
Jen Peyser is Vice President of Responsible Sourcing at the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), and Executive Director of the RBA’s Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI).
Jen has 20 years of experience designing and leading proactive, global, multi-stakeholder partnerships and strategies at the intersection of human rights, sustainability, and natural resources. Her work has particularly focused on the mining and minerals sector, and initiatives to improve environmental, social, and governance performance and impacts across supply chains from source to product.
In her former role at the NGO RESOLVE, Jen helped launch and facilitated the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade, partnered with the Alliance for Responsible Mining on the CRAFT Code, and led research and projects to enable responsible sourcing from conflict-affected countries, including the Responsible Artisanal Gold Solutions Forum.
Marcin Piersiak
Europe Director, ARM
Marcin Piersiak is the Director of the European chapter of Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), a global NGO headquartered in Colombia, that champions a vision of legitimate, responsible and profitable artisanal and small-scale mining sector, contributing to inclusive and sustainable development.
With a background in Economics and International Relations, he worked in the UK and Colombia, with short-term assignments in 12 countries in Latin America and Africa.
With 12 years of experience with ASM, Marcin contributed in a variety of roles to ARM's over tenfold growth, designing and implementing programs focused on continuous improvement of ASM's ESG performance and access to formal supply chains, within a framework of ARM's Fairmined standard and the Craft Code.
Nirali Shah
Chief Operating Officer, Responsible Gold Supply Chain
Nirali is the Chief Operating Officer of Responsible Gold Supply Chain LLC (RGSC). Nirali has 20 years’ international experience in designing and delivering sustainable solutions for multinational organizations, having spent most of her career in professional practice.
Since qualifying as a financial auditor in 2004, Nirali focused on transferring her audit skills and experience to the corporate sustainability field. Until 2019, Nirali led Deloitte UK's sustainability services for the extractives sector, working with international mining houses on their environmental, social and governance footprints, risk and impacts assessments, stakeholder management and reporting frameworks, and independent assurance engagements.
Since 2012, Nirali has specialized in responsible sourcing of precious metals and worked with several LBMA Good Delivery Refineries in Canada, the CIS, China, Europe, and South Africa. She established Deloitte’s global LBMA Responsible Sourcing services practice, developing technical resources, and providing local member firms with both on the ground training and remote support.
Nirali is now involved in developing technology-based solutions for the precious metals sector and oversees the blockchain-based traceability solution to produce Responsible Gold with full provenance records and ESG credentials at RGSC.
%202019.jpg)
Randy Smallwood
Chairman, World Gold Council
Randy Smallwood has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of Wheaton Precious Metals since 2011 and is one of the founding members.
Mr. Smallwood originally started as an exploration geologist with Wheaton River Minerals Ltd., and in 2001, was promoted to Director of Project Development, a role he held through the 2005 merger with Goldcorp (now Newmont).
Mr. Smallwood was an instrumental part of the team that built Wheaton River/Goldcorp into one of the largest and most profitable gold companies in the world. He is now focused on continuing to add to the impressive growth profile of Wheaton Precious Metals.
He is also the chairman of the board for Special Olympics BC, a member of the board of MineralsEd BC and a member of the organizing committee for Mining4Life, and previously on the board of the BC Cancer Foundation.
He holds a geological engineering degree from the University of British Columbia.
.jpg)
Phaedon Stamatopoulos
Director, Refining and Banking, Argor-Heraeus
Phaedon Stamatopoulos is Chemical Engineer by training, holding a BA & MEng from the University of Cambridge and an MSc. from London Imperial College. He spent eleven years in the catalyst industry for chemical applications with jobs at Johnson Matthey in the UK and Süd Chemie in Germany, which was also his first contact with precious metals, their applications and uses in the catalytic industry and fine chemicals.
In 2012 Phaedon joined Argor-Heraeus as Director of Sourcing and Refining. This role involves the sourcing of precious metals from all around the world (mines – whether artisanal, industrial) scrap (post consumer/industrial) or good delivery / good delivery like for transformation.
A core activity of Argor Heraeus has been the establishing of secure and segregated supply chains between individual sources and the final consumer, for example in the luxury watch & jewellery, investment or banking sectors. Argor’s commitment to sourcing responsible artisanal gold and creating secure supply chains is also demonstrated through our efforts in collaborating with UNIDO, UNEP, GEF, Swiss Better Gold, the vice-presidency in the Swiss Precious Metals Fabricators Association and membership on the RJC’s Standards Committee.
David Tait
CEO, World Gold Council
David Tait was appointed CEO of the World Gold Council in February 2019.
During his 30 years in the financial services industry, David has worked for a variety of reputed firms, most recently as Global Head of Fixed Income Macro Products at Credit Suisse. Prior to that he held senior trading roles at both Credit Suisse and UBS Investment Bank.
David began his career trading at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse and then built considerable asset management experience at Bluecrest Capital, Peloton Partners and Citadel Europe. He is currently an Independent Member of the Bank of England’s FICC Market Standards Board.
David is also a major supporter of the NSPCC and has raised over £1 million by climbing Mount Everest on five occasions. He was awarded an MBE by the Queen for his services to the charity.
Wendy Tyrell
Executive Director, Development Partner Institute