Directors and management
Non-executive directors
Loucas Pouroulis
Non-executive chairman
Former chairman, Eland Platinum
Loucas, former chairman of Eland Platinum, holds an Honours degree in Mineral Technology from the National Technical University of Athens and has been active in the South African mining industry since 1965. He worked in the mining industry in Germany, Sweden and Cyprus before joining Anglo American Corporation South Africa Limited. In 1977 he founded the Salene Group, a privately held South African mining group. He retired from Eland Platinum following Xstrata South Africa (Pty) Limited’s US$1 billion takeover of Eland Platinum in November 2007.
Dr Max Fernandez-Alonso
Non-executive director
Max holds a PHD Geology from Ghent University Belgium and heads the Geodynamics and Mineral Resources Division of the Department of Geology and Mineralogy of the KMMA (Koninklijk Museum voor Midden Afrika / Royal Museum for Central Africa), Tervuren, Belgium. He is Professor, Geology and Soil Sciences Department at Gent University Brussels. His research subjects are focused on regional geological and metallogenic topics in (Central) Africa, and in particular on the geodynamic evolution of the Proterozoic belts around the cuvette centrale du Congo / Congo basin in Meso- and Neoproterozoic times. He has conducted numerous field missions in (central and eastern) Africa: Burundi, DRC, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Max joined the TransAfrika team in January 2009.
David Salter
Non-executive director
Former managing director, Eland Platinum
David, former managing director of Eland Platinum, holds PhD and BSc (Hons) degrees in Mineral Technology from the Royal School of Mines, University of London. From 1984 to 1990 he worked for the De Beers Group. In 1990 he established his own company, which later became the De Beers group’s in-house process engineering company. He became managing director of Eland Platinum until its sale to Xstrata in 2007. He is the non-executive chairman of Keaton Energy Holdings Limited and serves on the board of Tharisa Limited. He joined the TransAfrika board as a non-executive director in November 2007.
Kenneth Maillard
Non-executive director
Kenneth Maillard is the managing director and co-founder of Belvedere Management Limited. He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified accountants of the UK as well as an Associate Member of the UK Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. He has previously worked in the offshore department of Arthur Andersen Mauritius as well as for international companies both locally and abroad. Kenneth joined the TransAfrika board November 2007 as a non-executive director.
John McIlraith
Non-executive director
John Mcllraith holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. After spending three years with Deloitte & Touche, he joined Avlin (Pty) Ltd in 1984 as the financial director. In 1990, he co-founded an asset-based finance company called Esprit Investments (Pty) Ltd. In 1997, Rand Merchant Bank Limited purchased Esprit Investments and John was appointed divisional general manager of its asset-based division. In 1994, John co-founded Inter Ocean Aviation Finance in order to assist in cross-border asset-based finance transactions. John is also the co-founder of the first fish aquaculture business in Mauritius, Femme Marine de Mahebourg Ltd. He joined the TransAfrika board in November 2007 as a non-executive director.
Executive directors
Roeland van Kerckhoven
Group chief executive officer
Roeland, former Anglo Platinum executive director of finance and business development, spent more than 30 years of his career with the Anglo American group of companies, 15 of which were with Anglo Platinum Limited where he was a director until March 2007. Since joining TransAfrika, he has been actively involved in negotiations with African governments and potential joint venture partners.
René Hochreiter
Group executive director
René, mining engineer, geologist, investment banker and award-winning mining analyst, began his career in 1979 with Rustenburg Platinum Mines Limited. In 1987 he became a mining analyst with Anderson, Wilson and Partners Inc (AW), was appointed a director of AW, and during his tenure was admitted as a member of the JSE. In 2003 he joined Nedbank Capital, first as an analyst and then as an investment banker. He moved to Allan Hochreiter (Pty) Ltd in 2006 as a director, focusing on mining investment banking activities and joined the TransAfrika board in November 2007 as an executive director.
Paul Slabber
Group chief financial officer
Paul qualified as a chartered accountant in 1999 after completing his articles with PricewaterhouseCoopers. After a number of financial appointments, which included a two-year appointment with Aon Insurance Managers Bermuda Limited, he joined leading South African media and entertainment group Primedia Limited. He joined the TransAfrika board as chief financial officer in January 2008.
Louw van Schalkwyk
Group technical director
Louw obtained a BSc Geology (Hons) degree from the University of Stellenbosch in 1984. He joined Gold Fields of South Africa Limited and was promoted to senior geologist. In 1992 he moved to consulting and contracting geology, working on gold exploration for various major and junior exploration and mining companies in sub-Saharan Africa. These included Rio Tinto Plc, Anglo American, Iscor Limited, Pangea Diamond Fields Plc and Casmyn Mining Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda and Namibia. His ability to integrate geology with applied exploration techniques led to his discovery of the Gams East Zinc orebody.
Corporate management
Thomas Nziratimana
General manager: government and community relations
Thomas was involved in socio-economic development-related research at the University of Burundi in 1990, after graduating from Lubumbashi University. In 1997 he joined the DRC government and served as an adviser to the Secretary General of the Alliance for Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL). He was subsequently appointed first secretary of the DRC’s embassy in Zimbabwe. In 1999 he served as chief representative of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) in South Africa, where he was involved in the Congolese peace process. In 2004 he was appointed vice-governor of DRC’s South Kivu Province, in charge of economy, finance and development. He joined TransAfrika in May 2007.
Operational management
Alice Gasarabwe
Deputy general manager, Mali
Alice began her career as a translator and interpreter for Aegis Trust Kigali in Rwanda, being fluent in both English and French. She advanced to director of administration for Siemens in Mali in 2004 and continued to grow in this role over the last four years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in social sciences from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda and a MBA from ESG Bamako, Mali. Alice joined the TransAfrika team in November 2008.
Luc Antoine
Project manager, Senegal Heavy Mineral Sands Project
Luc holds a PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand. He worked as an exploration geologist and geophysicist for Anglo American Corporation and Falconbridge Limited and taught for several years at Wits before co-founding Geoscientific and Exploration Services. His experience includes a wide range of geological terrains, field conditions, mineral types and commodities throughout Africa.
Edward Mills
Project manager, DRC
Edward received his BSc (Hons) in geological engineering in 1991 from the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, and his MSc in exploration geology in 1999 from Rhodes University, South Africa. Since January 2009, Edward has been TransAfrika’s project manager for Rwanda and the eastern DRC, managing all exploration projects in the region. Prior to this, Edward acquired extensive project management and exploration experience, primarily in Tanzania and Ghana.
Mohamed Lebatt
Western African adviser
Mohamed completed his law degree and PhD at the University of Toulouse in France in 1987. He joined the University of Nouakchott, where he became dean of the law school and then rector. In 1997 he joined the Mauritanian government and was appointed minister of foreign affairs and international co-operation. In 1998 he became the UN secretary general’s special envoy for the Burundian peace process and in 2000 special representative of Sir Ketumile Masire, facilitator of the inter-Congolese political dialogue. He was appointed Mauritania’s ambassador to the African Union in Ethiopia in 2003 and to South Africa in 2005. He joined TransAfrika in August 2007.
Mbaga Mbonyimbuga
Office manager, Rwanda
Former assistant minister of justice, Rwanda.
Group structure