New Moly's Management Team has 100+ years of combined mining & capital markets experience

Executive Team

Robin Bienenstock joined RCF in 2022 as a Consultant. She is an investor and independent public company director with over 25 years of blue-chip experience with global companies. Ms. Bienenstock was an investment partner for five years in long/short funds before which she was a Senior Analyst at Sanford Bernstein, an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company, and an analyst at SG Warburg. Robin serves as a Non-Executive Director on the board of directors at Cogeco Communications,  and Chair of the Board of Norzinc. She has a B.A from Oxford University, an MA from the SDA Bocconi, and was a candidate ar the University of Toronto. She speaks Italian and French. 

Jim Zadra, CPA, CA, MBA is a finance executive and corporate director with over 13 years of CFO experience and over 7 years of experience as a corporate director. As a CFO, he has led large global teams in growth oriented, multinational companies in the information technology and mining industries, including an intermediate gold and silver producer listed on the TSX and NYSE American.  His experience includes a strong focus on corporate development, strategic planning and corporate finance, having completed over $200 MM in of debt and equity financings, and playing a key role in eight M&A transactions. Jim started his career with Deloitte, specializing in audit and tax advisory, and subsequently gained capital markets experience working for one of Canada’s leading independent investment banks. Jim’s degrees include a B. Comm from the University of British Columbia and MBA from Queen’s University.

Chris holds nearly 15 years of experience in financing, business development and strategy for companies in the natural resources sector. Over the course of his career, Chris has progressed through roles of increasing responsibility, starting his career as an Advisor to the Minister of the Department of Energy for the Government of Alberta, gaining significant exposure to the technical aspects of the mining industry. Subsequent to that, Chris began taking on executive roles, working as the VP, Energy and Metals Capital for Macquarie Group as well as VP for MSG Energy Partners. Most recently, Chris worked at Rio Tinto as a Manager of Structured and Project Finance. He brings extensive financial knowledge with respect to the mining industry and will be instrumental in shaping New Moly’s financial path. Chris holds a Master’s Degree in Economics (Quantitative Finance) with Commendations from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

Shane Uren has significant experience in the management of environmental assessments and permitting of mining projects in British Columbia and Canada; including Galore Creek Mine, Schaft Creek Project, Kitsault Mine, Mount Milligan Mine, Red Chris Mine, Ekati Diamond Mine, Prairie Creek. Mr. Uren has held management, technical advisory and contractor positions with Copper Fox Metals, Avanti Kitsault Mine Ltd, Atrum Coal, Hanstone Gold, Carmax Mining and Goldwedge Mines. As part of Mr. Uren’s role in project permitting and development, Mr. Uren has supported engagement with Indigenous groups leading to agreements for exploration, environmental stewardship and economic benefits.  Mr. Uren is a Registered Professional Biologist in British Columbia with a Masters in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia.

Robert Pennington was previously Chief Operation Officer of General Moly since January 2012. Before that, he served as Vice President of Engineering starting in October 2007. He oversaw the Mt. Hope project permitting and development. Mr. Pennington previously served as Chief Operating Officer of M3 Engineering & Technology (M3) in Tucson, Arizona. Prior to that, Mr. Pennington has 34 years of metal mine operations and project management experience, including 24 years in management of mine and plant operations. He previously served as President at the Phelps Dodge Tyrone mine and General Manager at the Phelps Dodge Morenci mine. Mr. Pennington’s project experience dates back to 1982 with the construction and startup of the Kennecott Chino concentrator. As an M3 project manager, he was responsible for the design, construction, and startup of the Chino SXEW plant, the Phelps Dodge Candelaria operation in Chile, the Piedras Verdes SXEW operation in Mexico, and other projects. Mr. Pennington has extensive experience in base metal operations and design, and molybdenum processing. He has a Bachelor of Science from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

Board of Directors

Robin Bienenstock joined RCF in 2022 as a Consultant. She is an investor and independent public company director with over 25 years of blue-chip experience with global companies. Ms. Bienenstock was an investment partner for five years in long/short funds before which she was a Senior Analyst at Sanford Bernstein, an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company, and an analyst at SG Warburg. Robin serves as a Non-Executive Director on the board of directors at Cogeco Communications,  and Chair of the Board of Norzinc. She has a B.A from Oxford University, an MA from the SDA Bocconi, and was a candidate ar the University of Toronto. She speaks Italian and French. 

Steve Axcell is an executive leader with 44 years of experience with strengths in mining operations management and project management execution, including process plant design and construction management; with industry expertise in mining and minerals, pharmaceutical, and hydrocarbon projects. He has vast experience in international design and construction projects.  Experience includes management and oversight of large and small projects, complex process facilities in both green-fields and retro-fit (brown fields) environments. Steve holds a BSc (Engineering) Minerals Processing from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Jasper Bertisen is a Director of Avanti and is currently a principal with RCF Management LLC, the manager of Resource Capital Funds (together “RCF”), a group of private equity funds that invests exclusively in the mining sector. Mr. Bertisen joined RCF in 2004 and, since that time, has completed technical and commercial due diligence on a large number of mining companies with projects ranging from late-stage exploration through production. Prior to joining RCF in 2004, he completed traineeships in Germany, Finland, Chile, and Australia, in a number of open pit and underground mining operations. In 2005, Mr. Bertisen worked full time with one of RCF’s portfolio companies with base metal operations in Portugal. Mr. Bertisen is a board director of portfolio company Alloycorp Mining.

Mr. Bertisen graduated with a Master of Science degree in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines and a Master of Science degree in Mining Engineering from Delft University of Technology. Mr Bertisen is currently also a non-executive director of TSX-V listed AQM Copper Inc. and TSX-listed EMED Mining Public Ltd. 

Mario Caron is a mining executive with over 40 years of experience in the mining industry in senior executive and board positions. His experience was gained nationally and internationally in both underground and open pits operations. Mr. Caron has been Chief Executive Officer and director with Axmin Inc, a company developing a gold project in Central African Republic and Tiberon Minerals Ltd., the developer of a tungsten/fluorspar mine in Vietnam. He was instrumental in obtaining the mining license for the Vietnamese project. He was also closely involved in the project financing, in the engineering and development of that project. As CEO of public companies, he secured mining licenses and various permits in numerous jurisdictions. He is the chairman of Alloycorp Mining Inc., a privatized company since August 2016 with a molybdenum deposit in British Columbia.

Mr. Caron received his Bachelor of Engineering, Mining at McGill University and is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec and the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario. 

Clint Coghill co-founded Backstop Solutions Group in 2003 as the Founding Chairman and has helped guide the company as Chairman of the Board for the last 15 years. Clint now leads the Backstop Executive Team as CEO. Prior to joining Backstop in an executive role, Clint was CIO of Coghill Capital Management, a successful Chicago-based hedge fund management company he started in 1995. Among his other professional pursuits, Clint was the Founding Chairman of NFTE Chicago’s Regional Advisory Board, which provides entrepreneurship programs to young people from low-income communities and reaches more than 2,000 youth per year. He is also the founder of two charitable Organizations, the Coghill Family Foundation and the Environmental Impact Initiative.

Clint received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona, and his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the London Business School.

Lawrence (Lorie) Haber has had a diverse career in the financial industry, law and the capital markets, and in governance and executive management roles - as a senior executive with National Bank Financial and DundeeWealth, as a securities lawyer and partner of Toronto law firm Fogler, Rubinoff LLP, as a corporate board member of several public and private companies, as the CEO of TSX listed Benev Capital Corp (now Diversified Royalty Corp), and as an adviser to the Ontario Securities commission (OSC) and to the Ontario Government on several policy projects relating to the capital markets and the financial industry. Mr. Haber was a Commissioner of the OSC between 2018 and 2022 and served as Lead Director of the OSC Board from 2019 to 2022. He currently serves as a director of Eco Oro Minerals Corp., a Canadian exchange listed public mining company, and is a member of the Advisory Council of Westcourt Capital ULC, a Canadian based portfolio manager that constructs diversified portfolios of alternative investments for ultra high net worth clients. He is also currently a director of Norzinc Ltd., a Canadian private company with a zinc and silver mine project in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Haber retired as a director and Board Chair of Diversified Royalty Corp in early 2021 after 10 years in that role. Mr. Haber taught a course on complex corporate transactions for several years as an Adjunct Professor in the Osgoode Hall Law School LL.M Program. Mr. Haber holds a BA (Hons) in Political Science from the University of Toronto and an LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School of York University.

Bruce D. Hansen was previously the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of General Moly since January 2007 and assumed the additional role of Chief Financial Officer in May 2017. In addition, he was previously Senior Vice President, Operations Services and Development, at Newmont Mining Corporation. His management roles at Newmont included serving as Chief Financial Officer and as Vice President of Project Development. Prior to Newmont, Mr. Hansen was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corporation. He is a member of the Board of Directors for ASA Gold and Precious Metals Limited, a closed-end investment fund and one of the oldest investment management firms focused on precious metals and mining companies, and Energy Fuels Inc., a U.S.-based integrated producer of uranium traded on the NYSE American.

Mr. Hansen has a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of New Mexico.