Robert has more than 25 years experience as a senior executive in the mining and metals space, most
recently with TechMet-Mercuria S.A., a marketing and trading company specializing in energy metals,
where he is Co-Managing Director. Previously Robert was with Vale S.A., where he served as Executive
Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Base Metals. Robert was instrumental in developing Vale’s strategic
direction relating to the company’s electric vehicle strategy. Specifically, how to position Vale’s vast
nickel, cobalt and copper assets to maximize value in the era of electrification.
While based in Tokyo he was president of Vale’s Japanese subsidiary Vale Japan Ltd., managing the
company’s nickel production assets and leading the sales and business development activities covering
nickel and cobalt specialty products. Prior to Vale, Robert was Managing Director at Umicore Greater
China responsible for marketing Umicore’s line of cathode battery materials to the China market.
Robert also served as the chairman of the Nickel Institute, the voice of the nickel industry, and a board
commissioner at PT Vale, one of the largest publicly traded nickel producers based in Indonesia.
A graduate of the University of Calgary, Robert holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and has
completed executive management certificates from IMD Business School and MIT Sloan School of
Management.