LITHIUM AMERICAS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Resource Development
Alexi Zawadzki has over 20 years of experience developing mining and energy projects in roles of increasing responsibility. Following 10 years working for an international engineering consultancy, in 2007 he founded a publicly traded renewable energy company resulting in the construction and operation of two hydroelectric facilities. Since 2014, he has been focused on the lithium sector as an enabler of renewable energy technologies. Alexi trained as a hydrologist and holds a Masters degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration
- Senior Vice - President, Finance and Administration for LAC
Ms. Hashimoto is the Senior Vice-President, Finance and Administration for LAC. She has over 20 years of international experience in senior finance roles in the mining industry. Prior to joining LAC, she was CFO for Pembrook Copper Corp. and Pacific Rim Mining Corp. She also served in increasing roles of responsibility over 13 years at Placer Dome Inc. including as Controller for the Australasian and North American mining operations and as CFO for the Global Exploration and Construction division. Ms. Hashimoto is a CPA and holds a BA in Economics from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Human Resources
- Vice President, Human Resources of LAC
Aubree Barnum is the Vice President, Human Resources of LAC and is a human resources professional with over 13 years of experience in municipal and mining industry human resources leadership roles. Prior to joining LAC, Aubree served as Vice President Human Resources for Nevada Copper Corp. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Physiology from the University of Oregon and a Master of Business Administration/Human Resource Management degree from Columbia Southern University. She holds a Certified Professional (CP) designation from the Society of Human Resource Management and is a member of the National Society for Leadership and Success.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Compensation and Leadership Committee
- Member of the Governance and Nomination Committee
- Member of the Technical Committee
- Lead Independent Director Chair, Governance and Nomination Committee
- Member of Compensation and Leadership Committee
- Member of Governance and Nomination Committee
Dr. Yuan Gao was the Vice Chairman of the board of Qinghai Taifeng Pulead Lithium-Energy Technology Co. Ltd, a leading producer of cathods for lithium-ion batteries, from September 2019 to May 2023 having served as President and CEO from May 2014 to September 2019. Previously, Yuan served as Vice President at Molycorp Inc., and as Global Marketing Director and Technology Manager at FMC Corporation (USA). Yuan holds a BSc from the University of Science and Technology of China, and a PhD in Physics from the University of British Columbia. He has also completed Executive Education at The Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.
Edward Grandy - Chief Legal Officer, Secretary, SVP
Job Titles:
- Corporate Secretary
- General Counsel
- Senior Vice President
- Vice President, Legal and Regulatory
Ted Grandy is the Vice President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs of Lithium Nevada. He was General Counsel of Barrick's copper business at Barrick Gold Corporation from 2012 to 2018. He is a legal department leader with broad experience in project development and regulatory compliance. Edward holds a Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College and a J.D. from the Emory University School of Law.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit and Risk Committee
- Member of the Governance and Nomination Committee
- Director at LAC
- Director Chair, Audit and Risk Committee
- Member of Governance and Nomination Committee
Ms. Chubbs is a Director at LAC, having joined the Board in June of 2019. Ms. Chubbs was the Chief Financial Officer of Eldorado Gold Corporation from 2011 to 2018. She joined Eldorado Gold Corporation in 2007 and led Treasury and Risk Management functions until accepting the Chief Financial Officer position. Prior to joining Eldorado Gold Corporation, she was a Senior Manager with PwC Canada. During her ten years at PwC Canada, Ms. Chubbs specialized in audit of public mining and technology companies. Ms. Chubbs started her career in her native Argentina, with experience divided between PwC Argentina and IBM. Ms. Chubbs holds dual degrees from the University of Buenos Aires, a Certified Public Accountant bachelor's degree, and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Ms. Chubbs is a Chartered Public Accountant in Canada. Ms. Chubbs also serves on the board of Royal Gold, Inc.
Job Titles:
- Paiute and Shoshone Tribe Member
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit and Risk Committee
- Member of the Compensation and Leadership Committee
- Member of the Governance and Nomination Committee
- Director at LAC
- Director Chair, Compensation and Leadership Committee
- Member of Compensation and Leadership Committee
- Member of Governance and Nomination Committee
Ms. Magie is a Director at LAC, having joined the Board in June of 2021. Ms. Magie served as the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Lundin Mining Corporation from October 2018 to September 2022, overseeing financial reporting, treasury, tax and information technology (including cybersecurity). She joined Lundin in 2008, serving in various roles of increasing responsibility, including nine years as Vice President, Finance. With over 25 years of experience, Ms. Magie began her career with Ernst & Young and has held progressively more senior roles in public companies, with the last 15 years in the mining industry. Before joining Lundin, Ms. Magie was the Director of Corporate Compliance for LionOre Mining International Ltd. She has extensive experience in acquisitions and divestitures, public and private equity fundraising and public company reporting. Ms. Magie holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA).
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Director
- Member of the Technical Committee
- President
- President and Chief Executive Officer of LAC
This project is a godsend for the community, and could lead to many opportunities in the future.
Mr. Evans is the current President and Chief Executive Officer of LAC and is also a Director of LAC. Mr. Evans joined as a Director of LAC in June of 2017, has served as President of LAC since August of 2018 and its Chief Executive Officer since May of 2019. Mr. Evans has more than 20 years of operations and general management experience across businesses of various sizes and industry applications. Previously, he served as Vice President and General Manager for the Lithium Division at FMC Corporation (USA), and as the Chief Operating Officer of DiversiTech Corporation, a portfolio company of the private equity group, Permira. Jon has also held executive management roles at Arysta LifeScience, AMRI Corporation and General Electric. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Clarkson University and an MSc from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Job Titles:
- Director and Executive Chair
Kelvin Dushnisky served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. from 2018 to 2020. There he led the execution of the organization's strategic priorities and oversaw a global portfolio of mining operations and projects in Africa, South America and Australia, along with exploration interests and investments in Canada and the USA. Prior to AngloGold Ashanti, Mr. Dushnisky had a sixteen-year career with Barrick Gold Corporation, ultimately as its President and a member of the Barrick Board of Directors. Prior to Barrick, Mr. Dushnisky held senior executive and board positions with a number of private and listed companies.
Mr Dushnisky holds a B.Sc. (Hon.) degree from the University of Manitoba and M.Sc. and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of British Columbia. He is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia and the Canadian Bar Association.
Among numerous other industry and related associations, Mr. Dushnisky is past Chair of the World Gold Council and a former member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) CEO Council and Accenture Global Mining Council. Mr. Dushnisky is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the Toronto-based University Health Network (UHN).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit and Risk Committee
- Director Chair, Safety and Sustainability Committee
Mr. Brown is a former Executive Director of the State of Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development from 2019 to 2023 among other state government roles held during this period. Previously he served as President of Barrick Gold North America, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation from 2015 to 2018 after serving in roles of increasing responsibility with Barrick since 1994. Mr. Brown has over 24 years of mine operations experience coupled with experience in U.S. federal, state and foreign government relations. He has previously served on a number of not-for-profit boards in the state of Nevada, including the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, Communities in Schools - Nevada and the Nevada Taxpayers Association. He is former member of the executive committee of the US National Mining Association. Mr. Brown holds an MBA from George Washington University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Executive Vice President
Pablo Mercado serves as Executive Vice president and Chief Financial Officer of Lithium Americas Corp. Pablo has over 23 years of experience in finance and corporate development in the energy industry. Prior to joining Lithium Americas, he served as Chief Financial Officer of EnLink Midstream, LLC, and prior to that, as Chief Financial Officer of Forum Energy Technologies, Inc., both US public companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Pablo started his professional career in 1998. He was an investment banker at Bank of America, UBS and Credit Suisse, until joining Forum in 2011. Pablo holds a BBA from the Cox School of Business and a BA in Economics from the Dedman College, both of Southern Methodist University, and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Technical Committee
- Director Chair, Technical Committee
- Member of Compensation and Leadership Committee
- Non - Executive Director at Walkabout Resources Ltd
- Safety and Sustainability Committee
Mr. Montgomery is a non-executive director at Walkabout Resources Ltd. He brings extensive global experience in major capital projects. Over his 35-year career at BHP Group Limited and its predecessor organizations, Mr. Montgomery worked across various geographies and commodities, demonstrating expertise in leading assets and projects as well as senior corporate roles, including Chief Growth Officer, Global Head of Group Project Management and Vice President - Projects. Mr. Montgomery is a Professional Engineer and holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and Business Management from Oxford Brookes University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Growth and Product Strategy
Dr. Rene LeBlanc has 15 years of experience in a variety of development and production operations as well as commercial experience in supply chain development for the energy storage industry. He joins Lithium Americas after managing efforts to develop supplies of critical materials for Tesla Inc., and after a decade on lithium production projects for FMC Corporation's Lithium Division. Rene earned his Bachelors and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President, Capital Projects
Richard Gerspacher is responsible for the Company's capital projects strategy. He has over 20 years of leadership experience in developing and executing successful projects throughout the world in a variety of sectors including industrial minerals, metals mining and power generation. Prior to joining Lithium Americas, Richard worked for Fluor Corporation, a global engineering and construction company where he served as Vice President and Projects Director for a lithium project in Australia. He also served as Chairman of Fluor's Latin America Talent Development Team and as a member of their Global Project Management Talent Development Team. Richard holds a Professional Engineer designation, and has a Bachelor's degree in Civil-Structural Engineering from the University of Detroit and a Master of Business Administration degree from Duke University.
Tereza Fonda - Chief Legal Officer, Secretary
Job Titles:
- Corporate Counsel
- Corporate Secretary
Tereza Fonda has served as Corporate Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Lithium Americas Corp. since November 2023. She has almost 20 years experience acting as a corporate secretary and advising organizations in all areas relating to business law with a focus on corporate and securities law, corporate governance and compliance matters. She has advised and served as an officer and director of various publicly listed, privately held, and not for profit entities in Canada, the U.S. and internationally. Prior to joining LAC, Tereza was the Director, Governance and Senior Legal Counsel at STEP Energy Services Ltd. (TSX: STEP) for five years, and Senior Legal Counsel at TC Energy Corporation (TSX, NYSE: TRP) where she acted as corporate secretary for almost 10 years. She began her professional career as an Associate lawyer at the large regional law firm in Calgary, Canada. Tereza has a triple major Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science, Philosophy and Economics from the University of British Columbia, and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta. She is member in good standing of the Law Society of British Columbia and Canadian Bar Association. Tereza is also a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), and is ICD.D certified.
Job Titles:
- Media
- Principal of Crowley & Ferrato Public Affairs
- Vice President, Government and External Affairs
Mr. Crowley is the Principal of Crowley & Ferrato Public Affairs, having served in this role since 2014. Prior to Crowley & Ferrato Public Affairs, he was the President of the Nevada Mining Association. He sits on the Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful Board of Directors and the University of Nevada, Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering Advisory Board. Tim holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nevada, Reno.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Investor Relations and ESG
Virginia (Ginny) Morgan's professional experience of over 20 years includes roles in investor relations, ESG, sustainability reporting, external communications and global branding, most recently with Capstone Mining, Goldcorp and Avalon Rare Metals. Her work earned Capstone a nomination for Best Overall Investor Relations 2020 (Small Cap) by IR Magazine Canada, and while at Goldcorp, she contributed towards multiple CPA Canada Awards including Excellence in Corporate and Sustainability Reporting and Electronic Disclosure. She has a Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Management from Royal Roads University, a Publicity & Public Relations Certificate from the University of Toronto and completed Business Sustainability Management from the University of Cambridge.
Mr. Kirkman is GM's nominee to the Board of LAC. He is the Vice President Corporate Development and Global M&A of General Motors Company since January 2023, and prior to that served as the Head of Corporate Development, Mergers & Acquisitions of Tesla, Inc. from August 2016 to December 2022. Mr. Kirkman has extensive M&A experience gained during his time leading the corporate development teams of GM and Tesla, and previously as part of Apple Inc.'s corporate development department. He holds an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.