Patrick M. James, Chair and Director, has more than 35 years experience in the mining industry. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Rio Algom Limited from 1997 to 2001. Prior to joining Rio Algom, Pat spent 18 years working for Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corporation, where he held various positions of increasing responsibility before being appointed Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer in 1995. He holds a M.A. in Management from the University of New Mexico and a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. He currently serves on the board of Stillwater Mining Company.
Mr James is a member of the Audit Committee, the Safety, Health and Environmental Committee and Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Bruce Walter, Vice Chair and Director, is currently Chairman and CEO of Four Mile Investments Inc. involved in investments and financial and strategic advisory services. From 2002 until 2007, Mr. Walter was a director and officer of Dynatec Corporation, initially as Vice-Chairman and from 2005 as President and CEO. Prior thereto his career included serving as President of Sherritt Inc., President and CEO of Plaintree Systems Inc., and Managing Director and Co-Head of the Media, Telecom & Technology investment and corporate banking group at BMO Nesbitt Burns. Mr. Walter also served as VP of Horsham Corporation and was a partner in the predecessor law firm to Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. Mr. Walter received his Bachelor of Laws and Master of Business Administration degrees from York University in 1981. He received his PhD in law in 1985 from the University of Cape Town. Mr. Walter currently serves on the boards of The Westaim Corporation and the National Ballet School of Canada.
Mr. Walter is a member of the Safety, Health and Environmental Committee.
Stephen A. Lang, Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
Steve has over 27 years of experience in the mineral sector including engineering, development and production in gold, coal, PGM and copper operations and joined Centerra in 2007 as Chief Operating Officer. Between 2003 and 2007, Steve served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Stillwater Mining Company. Prior to joining Stillwater, Steve was employed with Barrick Gold Corporation as Vice President and General Manager of Barrick Gold’s Goldstrike/Meikle operation from 2001 to 2003. Prior to this he served as Vice President of Engineering and Project Development of Rio Algom, Limited in Santiago, Chile from 1999 to 2001. From 1996 to 1999, he served as Vice President and General Manager of Kinross Gold Corporation/Amax Gold Corporation’s Fort Knox Mine in Fairbanks, Alaska. From 1981 to 1996, he held various positions with Santa Fe Pacific Gold Minerals Corporation, including General Manager of the Twin Creeks Mine in Golconda, Nevada. Mr. Lang earned a Bachelors of Science in Mining Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla and a Masters Degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla.
Ian Austin, Director, has extensive experience in the mining industry and financial management. From 2003 to 2008, Mr. Austin served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Skye Resources Inc. From 1989 to 2001, Ian worked for Placer Dome Inc., serving first as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and then as Executive Vice President, Strategic Development from 1997 to 2001. Prior to joining Placer Dome, Ian spent 11 years with Inco Limited, where he served as Treasurer from 1981 to 1989. Ian holds a B.A. and a M.A. in Economics from Cambridge University.
Mr. Austin is Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Human Resources and Compensation Committee.
Aleksei Eliseev, Director, is being appointed to Centerra's Board of Directors as one of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic's representatives. Mr. Eliseev, a Kyrgyz citizen, has extensive experience in senior management positions in the banking and legal industry. He is a lawyer and currently is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kyrgyzaltyn JSC, Centerra's largest individual shareholder, and Deputy Chairman of the Central Agency for Development, Investment and Innovation of Kyrgyz Republic, a state agency responsible for coordinating the Government's initiatives and strategy for the economic development of the Kyrgyz Republic. Additionally, Mr. Eliseev serves as Managing Director on behalf of the Kyrgyz Republic, for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Mr. Eliseev received a Law Degree from the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University in July 1998.
Iurii Kosvin, Director, is the Kyrgyz Government's second representative on Centerra's Board of Directors and in accordance with the Restated Shareholders Agreement among Centerra and Kyrgyzaltyn dated June 6, 2009; he is independent of the Kyrgyz Government. Mr. Kosvin, a citizen of the Ukraine, is a businessman based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Mr. Kosvin has extensive business experience and studied engineering at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Ukraine.
John Lill, Director, has been appointed to Centerra's Board of Directors. Mr. Lill has more than 30 years experience in the mining industry in both operating and senior executive roles. Over Mr. Lill's career he has held leadership roles with overall responsibility, at various times, for more than twenty different major mines representing some of the world's largest and most efficient mining and processing operations. Most recently he served as President and CEO of FNX Mining Company of Toronto, Ontario. He has a B.Sc. (Hons) Mining Engineering degree from Queen's University and is a professional engineer registered with the Ontario Professional Engineers and APEGGA (Alberta).
Sheryl Pressler, Director, is currently an investment and strategy consultant in Atlanta, Georgia. From 2000 to 2001, she served as chief executive officer of Lend Lease Real Estate Investments-United States. From 1994-2000, she served as chief investment officer of California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Prior thereto, she was responsible for the investment management of the retirement funds for the McDonnell Douglas Corporation. Ms. Pressler received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Webster University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Washington University. Ms. Pressler currently serves on the board of directors of Stillwater Mining Company (and is chair of the audit committee of Stillwater) and ING Mutual Funds . She also serves on several advisory and not-for-profit boards.
Ms Pressler is a member of the Audit Committee, the Human Resources and Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Terry Rogers, Director, served as Senior Vice President of Cameco Corporation until his retirement in June 2007 and has more than 30 years experience in coal, gold, lignite and uranium mining operations. Prior to being appointed as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Cameco in 2003, he served as President of the Kumtor Operating Company in the Kyrgyz Republic. Preceding his association with Cameco, Mr Rogers served with Morrison-Knudsen Company and its subsidiaries at a variety of operating sites worldwide and in the corporate headquarters in Boise, Idaho. His assignments included Managing Director, Technical for MIBRA GmbH in Leipzig, Germany, a company producing lignite from three open cast mines and generating electricity at three coal fired power stations. Terry also served as President of the Jerooy Gold Company, worked for MK Gold Company in the Kyrgyz Republic and served as General Manager of American Girl Mining Joint Venture with MK Gold in southern California. Other assignments with Morrison-Knudsen included operations management at several gold and coal mining projects in the US. Terry received an Associate Degree in Applied Science from the Superior Technical Institute in Wisconsin in 1972. Mr Rogers currently serves on the board of directors of Hecla Mining Company.
Mr Rogers is Chair of the Reserves Committee and a member of the Safety, Health and Environmental Committee.
Mr. Thompson is a member of the Audit Committee, the Human Resources and Compensation Committee and Chair of the Safety, Health and Environmental Committee.
Anthony J. Webb, Director, has more than 30 years of diverse experience in the mineral sector including, most recently, business development, strategic planning and minerals marketing. He served as Vice President, Corporate Development of Cameco Corporation from 1997 until his retirement in 2003. Anthony originally joined the predecessor company to Cameco in 1982 and held positions of increasing responsibility including Assistant to the Chairman and CEO and Director, Corporate Development. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1968 and a Master of Science degree in 1970, both from McGill University. Anthony received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1974.
Mr Webb is Chair of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee and a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Stephen A. Lang, President and Chief Executive Officer
Steve has over 27 years of experience in the mineral sector including engineering, development and production in gold, coal, PGM and copper operations and joined Centerra in 2007 as Chief Operating Officer. Between 2003 and 2007, Steve served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Stillwater Mining Company. Prior to joining Stillwater, Steve was employed with Barrick Gold Corporation as Vice President and General Manager of Barrick Gold’s Goldstrike/Meikle operation from 2001 to 2003. Prior to this he served as Vice President of Engineering and Project Development of Rio Algom, Limited in Santiago, Chile from 1999 to 2001. From 1996 to 1999, he served as Vice President and General Manager of Kinross Gold Corporation/Amax Gold Corporation’s Fort Knox Mine in Fairbanks, Alaska. From 1981 to 1996, he held various positions with Santa Fe Pacific Gold Minerals Corporation, including General Manager of the Twin Creeks Mine in Golconda, Nevada. Mr. Lang earned a Bachelors of Science in Mining Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla and a Masters Degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla.
Ron Colquhoun, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Ron joined Centerra Gold Inc. in 2005 as Vice President, Project Development and Engineering and was responsible for all the evaluation, engineering, construction and commissioning of new and expansion projects. On July 30, 2008, Ron was promoted to Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for all of the Company's operations. He has more than 31 years of national and international experience in mine operations, project development, design and construction in the mineral resource industry. Prior to joining Centerra, he was Vice President of Technical Services with Crystallex International with primary responsibility for project permitting, design and construction of the Las Cristinas Project in Venezuela. Prior to that Ron was with Barrick Gold where he participated in the development and enhancement of the Balyanhulu and Tulawaka projects in Tanzania, participated in the development of the Holt-McDermott Mine in Ontario, the Goldstrike Mine in Nevada and managed the Barrick El Indio - Tambo projects in Chile. Prior to that Ron was with Dome Mine, where he oversaw the milling operations and participated in the modernization of the mine.
Ron is a graduate of the Haileybury School of Mines and was the recipient of the 1985 Special Achievement Award and the 2007 Mineral Processor of the Year Award, national awards presented by the CMP Division of the Canadian Institute of Mining - Metallurgy.
Jeffrey S. Parr, Vice President and Chief Fiancial Officer
Jeff has over 20 years experience in the mining and service provider industries. From 1997 to 2006 he worked for Hatch Acres Inc. (formerly Acres Inc.), most recently as Chief Financial Officer and Director of Shared Services. From 1988 to 1997 Jeff held progressively senior financial positions at WMC International ultimately serving as the company's Executive Vice President. A subsidiary of WMC, WMC International was responsible for mining and exploration activities in the Americas. From 1985 to 1988 Jeff worked for NBS Limited as Corporate Controller. He joined Ernst and Whinney Chartered Accountants (currently KPMG) in 1982 where he worked as an Advanced Senior Auditor.
Jeff is a Chartered Accountant and received his Master of Business Administration degree from McMaster University in 1982 and a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from the University of Western Ontario in 1979. He is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Financial Executives International (FEI Canada) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. Jeff also served as Director and Vice Chair of the Oakville Economic Development Alliance (OEDA) and was a member of its Executive Committee. He has also been a member of the Board of the Mining Association of Canada.
Ian Atkinson, Vice President, Exploration
Ian Atkinson is a senior corporate executive with over 30 years of experience in worldwide natural resource management. Most recently, Ian was Vice President Exploration & Strategy for Hecla Mining Company where he was responsible for directing exploration activities and managing the technical services and environmental groups. Prior to this Ian, was Senior Vice President Operations & Exploration with Battle Mountain Gold in Houston and was Senior Vice President with Hemlo Gold Mines in Toronto. Mr. Atkinson joined the Noranda Group in l979 and was involved in base and precious metal exploration in positions of increasing responsibility from offices across Canada. Before that Ian worked as a geologist and geophysicist for Falconbridge Nickel Mines Ltd., Yvanex Developments Limited, McIntyre Mines Ltd. and Resource Associates of Alaska.
Ian graduated in l971 from King’s College, University of London with a Bachelor of Science degree in geology and from the Royal School of Mines, University of London with a Masters degree in geophysics in l973. Ian has contributed directly to the discovery of several major mineral deposits including the Holloway Mine in Ontario and the Phoenix deposits at the Battle Mountain Complex in Nevada.
Frank Herbert, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Frank has more than 19 years of experience providing legal advice to public and private corporations. As a partner in two major Canadian law firms, he provided advice on a variety of corporate, securities and commercial matters and has extensive experience in international transactions especially in the natural resource sector. Frank has also practised with Freshfields in London, where he focused on international natural resource transactions and joint ventures.
Frank holds a LLB from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto.
John A. Ross, Vice President, Human Resources and Administration
John has more than 30 years of senior strategic human resource leadership experience in three industries, natural resources, high tech and consumer products; in companies such as Rio Algom, Dynatec, Labatt Brewing, Lafarge, Stratos Global and Hewlett Packard. Mr. Ross has had global accountability for the HR function for well over half of his career supporting operations in 28 countries and has lived and worked in Washington DC. In these previous roles Mr. Ross has become highly experienced in organizational change management and in providing HR support on M&A transactions and in leading integration activities. He graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Environmental Studies (Honours) and did his graduate studies at the University of Guelph. Mr. Ross also serves on two Boards of Directors; St. Genevieve Resources as Chairman of the HR & Compensation Committee and on Wildlife Preservation Canada as Chairman of the Organizational Effectiveness Committee.
Dennis Kwong, Vice President, Business Development
Dennis Kwong, Vice President, Business Development, joined Centerra Gold Inc. in October 2008. In this role, Dennis directs the activities focused on non-organic growth of the organization by identifying, evaluating, recommending, and negotiating value-adding business opportunities including corporate acquisitions.
Dennis has a solid career in business development and finance. After pursuing his Masters of Science at McGill University and his MBA at University of Toronto, he joined PriceWaterhouseCoopers, during which time he obtained his Chartered Accountant designation. Dennis joined Noranda (subsequently Falconbridge and Xstrata) in 2002 as a Business Development Analyst where he assisted with their business strategy for China. Over his career at Xstrata he advanced to several positions of greater responsibility. Prior to joining Centerra Dennis' last position was at Xstrata's Nickel division as Director, Business Development and he was pivotal in establishing the financing package for their Koniambo nickel project in New Caledonia.
Updated January 13, 2010