Our Leadership

Rick Anthon is a seasoned Lithium industry professional, having worked full time in the Lithium sector for almost 10 years. Mr Anthon was most recently the director of Corporate Development at Allkem Limited. He worked with Allkem from its initial IPO as a small exploration company up until its recent AUD 16Bn merger with Livent to form NYSE listed Arcadium Lithium, one of the world’s largest producers of lithium chemicals, which was subsequently acquired by Rio Tinto in 2025.

At Allkem, Mr Anthon worked on a number of major transactions including partnering with Toyota Tsushu Limited to develop the Olaroz Lithium Facility and the Naraha Lithium Hydroxide Plant, the establishment of Advantage Lithium Corp, a number of major capital market fund raisings, including the merger of Orocobre with Galaxy Resources Limited, creating Allkem which ultimately merged with the Livent Corporation to form Arcadium Lithium. Mr Anthon also worked closely with the Project teams for both brine and hard rock projects and Allkem’s community and sustainability team.

Mr Griffin is an experienced resources industry professional, he is currently Executive Chair of Sheffield Resources (ASX.SFX) and a Non-Executive Director of CVW CleanTech (CVW.TSXV), Capital Metals (AIM:CMET) and Mawson Gold Limited (MAW.TSX). He recently held several Chief Executive and senior management roles with mineral sands and titanium dioxide pigment companies. 

Prior roles include executive, commercial, strategy and management consulting positions with BHP, Graincorp and Bain & Company, which followed a 9-year career with Shell. He holds undergraduate degrees in chemical engineering and economics, as well as a Master of Business Administration.

Mr Diogo da Silveira, a former McKinsey Partner, is a seasoned CEO and NED in multiple sectors including Retailing, Telecom, Manufacturing, Banking, Insurance, Pulp and Paper, Electric Cables and Pharmaceuticals across Europe. He also has considerable experience in funds’ management, both Private Equity and Venture Capital.

Recently Diogo started several entrepreneurial initiatives in last mile logistics, real estate, and sports. He is the Chairman of Floene Energias, the leading Gas DSO in Portugal. Over the last 20 years, Diogo has been the CEO of several listed and private companies, namely The Navigator Company, Açoreana Seguros, ONI telecom, Isoroy, Novis as well as Executive Director at Sonae Indústria, Sonaecom, ModeloContinente, Sonae Investimentos and BanifBank. He has been a European NED at Glunz, Tafisa, Optimus, BanifBank, WeDo and Bizdirect. Diogo was a management member of several Portuguese industrial associations such as CIP, APS, Celpa, Cotec and BCSD as well as of European, Brussels based, CEPI and Worlwide, Geneva based, WBCSD. He also serves the French Embassy in Portugal as Conseiller du Commerce Exterieur. Diogo is an Ingénieur from Ecole Centrale de Lille, a research Scholar from Berkeley and holds an MBA & IDP from INSEAD.

Mr. Paulo Pinto is an experienced Board Member and Senior Executive with over 30 years of leadership in the banking and financial services industry. He has served on the boards of multiple financial institutions and currently holds the position of Executive Board Member at Pluris Investments, a diversified investment group based in Portugal. 

Throughout his career, he has held senior management roles in areas including corporate and SME banking, strategic planning, structured finance, and M&A, notably during a 30-year tenure at Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Portugal’s leading state-owned bank. He brings a strong track record in governance, business transformation, and investment oversight. An advocate of lifelong learning, he holds executive education credentials from Stanford GSB, MIT, INSEAD, London Business School, and others. His academic foundation in Economics (FEP – Universidade do Porto) is complemented by advanced training in financial analysis, credit risk, leadership, innovation, and strategic management. Mr. Paulo Pinto is certified in Financial Analysis by the European Association of Financial Analysts. With a strong understanding of international markets and regulatory frameworks, he contributes strategic insight and disciplined execution to investment decision-making processes, particularly in high-impact, growth-oriented environments.

Emanuel Proença is an experienced business executive and an expert in energy transition in mobility. He has a strong track record of managing transformation and generating growth within sectors including, green fuels production and market development, electrification of mobility, liquid fuels hedging, trading, logistics and retail of liquid fuels, and digitalisation. He holds an MBA from INSEAD (Singapore, USA/Wharton and France) and a Master’s degree in industrial engineering and management from Instituto Superior Técnico (Portugal).

Emanuel co-founded and was the President at the Associação de Bioenergia Avançada, a non-profit association with the fundamental concern of promoting bioenergy as a key sector to accelerate the energy transition and a more circular economy.

Mohamed Sulaiman is the Head of Strategy at the Towell Group*. He has worked in the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman during his career. Prior to joining the Towell Group, Mohamed led Strategy and Performance at OQ, the Omani energy company. He has served on the Boards of both public and private companies during his career to date.

Mohamed holds a Master of Arts, International Development fulfilling requirements for Master of Arts in Economics, and was a Tinker Walker International Research Fellow and a United Nations Association Fellow.

*W J Towell and Co. LLC is one of Oman’s largest privately owned companies, which has interests in property development and leasing, FMCG distribution, automobile and ancillary distribution, engineering and fabrication, construction, services and trading.

Mike Connor is the Chief Corporate Development Officer and a Management Board member of AMG Critical Materials N.V.. With over twenty years of experience in finance, corporate development, and strategic planning, he brings a blend of technical expertise and leadership skills.

Mr. Connor’s experience at AMG includes being an integral part of the leadership team which financed, constructed, and successfully operate a lithium mining operation in Brazil, as well as the first lithium conversion plant in Europe.