Dr. Marit Kitaw

Interim Director

African Union- African Minerals Development Center (AMDC)

Ms. Marit Kitaw, PhD  is the Interim Director of the African Minerals Development Center (AMDC), a Specialized Agency of the African Union, and a panafrican Center dedicated to harnessing Africa’s mineral resources for Africa’s sustainable development and structural transformation through implementing the Africa Mining Vision (AMV). She was previously an Economist at UNECA where she became a strong advocate of developmental and sustainable mining. Marit was also Chief Technical Advisor on Extractives Industries for Sustainable Development at UNDP Mozambique where she actively supported the elaboration of an AMV aligned minerals policy and strategy, the formulation of a local content policy and contributed to the environmental governance of the extractives sector.  As a founding member of the AMDC, she actively contributed to the development of major implementing tools. Dr. Marit previously worked in COMESA, at the African Development Bank, and at the Institute of World Affairs in Washington, DC.  Dr. Marit Kitaw received her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Nice/ Sophia-Antipolis in France, and an MBA in Leadership and Sustainability from the University of Cumbria, UK.
 

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Marie-Chantal Kaninda

President, Chairman

Glencore DRC, KCC

Marie-Chantal Kaninda joined Glencore DRC 5 years ago as Vice-President of Corporate Affairs .

Since January 2023 , she is The President of Glencore DRC  and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kamoto Copper Company-KCC(since July 2022) ,a partnership between Gécamines and Glencore in the DRC.  She has over 25 years of professional experience in the mining sector in major international groups such as Ashanti Goldfieds, AngloGold Ashanti, Debeers Group in charge of administration, communication and external affairs in Central Africa and Communities in Africa, and Rio Tinto as Director of External Relations for Africa. Marie-Chantal holds a degree in economics from the University of Liège, in Belgium, and for two years was one of the first woman to helm the World Diamond Council. Married with two daughters, she has long advocated for greater access to training for girls and women, as well as for greater inclusion in the mining sector. She is a mentor to several young women entrepreneurs in the DRC, the founder and creator of a not-for-profit association (the MCKM Foundation), which addresses the issue of girls’ education in the DRC. She is a member of several boards of directors, including Standard Bank in DRC as chairman of Board of Director . Marie-Chantal was recognized as one of the most influential women for 3 consecutive years by Forbes Africa”.

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Mzila Mthenjane

CEO

Minerals Council South Africa

Mr. Mzila Mthenjane (“Mzila”) is the CEO of the Minerals Council South Africa, the lobby and advocacy group whose members represent 90% of South Africa’s mineral output and employment. He was previously the Executive Head for Stakeholder Affairs at Exxaro Resources Limited. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the resources business, which has been attained in the mining and financial services sectors.

He has held various board positions as non-executive director in various entities including Pamodzi Gold Limited, Fraser Alexander, and Merafe Resources. Most recently, he was on the Exxaro Board, intimately involved in stakeholder engagements and strategy.

He is the current Chairman of the Board of the Impact Catalyst and is the former Chairman of the Wits University Mining Engineers Association and the former President of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Mr. Mthenjane holds a BSc degree in mining engineering from the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) and he has completed various leadership development training including the Senior Management Development Programme from the Graduate Institute of Management and Technology (GIMT). In addition, he has completed the ABSIP leadership programme with GIBS and Advanced Management Programme, with INSEAD.

His leadership acumen has greatly benefited his current role, drawing on his experiences in building and retaining harmonious yet robust relationships with Exxaro’s diverse stakeholder groupings. These stakeholders included employees, customers, investors, legislators, communities, traditional leaders, the media, unions, and civic organisations. In parallel, he advised the Exxaro leadership on the dynamics and changes within the external environment and their possible impact on the business.

He is credited with successfully leading the development of Exxaro’s sustainable impact approach, as well as establishing Exxaro’s ESG narrative for stakeholder engagement.  Through his leadership, Exxaro has remained among the top performers for integrated reporting, as acknowledged by local and offshore ratings agencies.

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Rohitesh Dhawan

President and CEO

International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM)

Rohitesh “Ro” Dhawan is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). He leads the Council of 24 CEOs of the world’s largest mining & metals companies in voluntary leadership actions that raise the standards of responsible mining.  
Under his leadership, ICMM has undertaken landmark commitments and action on critical sustainable development issues, including the first industry-wide commitment to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions, the first collective commitment on nature positive, pioneering actions on diversity, equity and inclusion, and significant steps towards transparency of the industry’s contribution and performance, including on tax and contract disclosure.
Ro is a Senior Associate (non-resident) in the Energy & Climate Change Programme at the Centre for Strategic & International Studies. He is also a Fellow and faculty member of the Africa Leadership Initiative and a Raisina fellow at the Asian Forum on Global Governance. He serves on the Advisory Boards of the Columbia Centre for Sustainable Investment, Concordia, and Resolve. He has served on the UK Government’s Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (PACT) Programme and was named one of South Africa’s climate change leaders for his work with the country’s mining sector.
Ro hold a Master’s in Environmental Change & Management from the University of Oxford in the UK and an undergraduate degree in Economics from Rhodes University in South Africa.

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