Oliver Baring is a former managing director of UBS in the Corporate Finance Division, where he was responsible for the Africa and Mining sectors. Before the merger with SG Warburg, he was a partner of Rowe & Pitman, having spent five years with the Anglo American/De Beers group in the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa. Mr Baring is non-executive chairman of Ridge Mining plc and First Africa Holdings Limited, a non-executive director of Blackrock World Mining Trust plc and Ferrexpo plc, and an adviser to the Sentient Resources Fund.
Kalaa Mpinga, who is a citizen of the DRC, has held a number of senior positions in different locations around the world. His career has included working for Bechtel Corporation in San Francisco and Anglo American Corporation of South Africa from 1991. In 1995 he joined the New Mining Division, the division responsible for exploration and the acquisition of resources in Africa. He was appointed a director of Anglo American Corporation in 1997. Mr Mpinga left the group in December 2001 to pursue business opportunities in mining, founding Mwana Africa Holdings (Pty) Limited, the forerunner of Mwana Africa, in 2003.
Peter Sydney-Smith has wide experience in the mining and metals sector, and in emerging markets in general and Africa in particular. Prior to taking up his position with Mwana Africa in June 2008, he was Finance Director of African mining company Nikanor. In his career he has acted as finance director for a number of companies, including Vedanta Resources plc, the international building materials group BPB plc and British Gypsum Limited. A chartered accountant, Mr Sydney-Smith is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.
Ken Owen is a senior mining engineer with over 30 years of international experience in the industry. Before his appointment to Mwana Africa in December 2005, he was a mining consultant to SRK Consulting. Between 1996 and 2003, Mr Owen held senior positions in Anglo American Corporation in South Africa and South America, culminating in the role of Senior Vice President: Mining for Anglo American Corporation of South Africa. Prior to his appointment as general manager of Premier Diamond Mine in South Africa in 1991, he was employed by De Beers Consolidated Mines. Mr Owen is a Fellow of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM).
Stuart Morris was appointed to the Board in December 2005. He was made a partner of KPMG South Africa in 1976, later becoming chairman and a member of the KPMG international executive and board. In 1976, he also joined the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, ultimately becoming its chairman. He has served on the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which included a period as president; on the South African Chamber of Business as a board member; and as a public investment commissioner. From 1999 until 2004, when he retired, Mr Morris was Group Financial Director and a director of Nedbank Group Limited, and he is currently an independent and non-executive director and chairman of the audit committees of several other listed and unlisted entities.
John Anderson was appointed to the Board in February 2007. A director of J O Hambro Investment Management Limited, he manages investment portfolios for what is predominantly an international client base. Prior to joining the company in 1988, he was a director of J Henry Schroder Wagg, where he was instrumental in establishing Schroder Securities Limited, and both Finance and International Partner at Panmure Gordon & Co. Mr Anderson has been involved in natural resources and emerging markets for more than 40 years and is a qualified chartered accountant and a graduate of Edinburgh University.
Etienne Denis was appointed to the Board in February 2007. He holds a PhD in Science from the University of Louvain (UCL). After working at the university and with Gécamines in the DRC, he joined Umicore (formerly known as Union Minière) in 1974 where he held a number of management positions, including those of Managing Director of Union Zinc, Umicore Engineering and Sibeka until 2003. When he retired, Dr Denis became a board member of Umicore until mid-2005 when he moved to the board of Cumerio. He was a director of Adastra Minerals Inc. until 2006, when it was purchased by First Quantum Minerals.
