Horizonte Minerals plc today confirmed Paul Smith as a non-executive director and chair and Karim Nasr as an executive director and interim chief executive, effective immediately.
Both were previously proposed as part of changes following board resignations including former CEO and company co-founder Jeremy Martin.
Mr Nasr has temporarily stepped down from his day-to-day executive role within La Mancha Resource Capital LLP to devote himself to Horizonte, agreeing to a conflict of interest.
Vincent Benoit, who had been interim chair, will continue his role as a non-executive director.
Horizonte’s board now comprises five members including Paul Smith, Gillian Davidson and John MacKenzie who are independent.
PAUL SMITH
Mr Smith is a corporate finance professional and senior board member with experience in natural resource focused companies.
He was head of strategy from 2011 to 2020 at Glencore plc and CFO of subsidiary Katanga Mining Ltd, from 2019 until its de-listing in 2020.
Mr Smith also represented Glencore as a non-executive director of Lonmin plc and Glencore Agriculture Ltd.
He was previously an analyst and fund manager at Marshall Wace Asset Management.
Mr Smith also co-founded Voltaire Minerals Partners in 2022.
KARIM NASR
Mr Nasr has more than 25 years’ experience in corporate finance and investments, including “leading one of Brazil’s largest corporate restructurings”.
Before joining Horizonte, he was managing partner and co-chief investment officer of La Mancha Resource Capital LLP, the investment adviser to the La Mancha Resource Fund SCSp, one of Horizonte’s major indirect shareholders.
Mr Nasr was previously CEO and CIO of telecom and media investment manager Digital World Capital (DWC).
From 2001 to 2011, he was in charge of corporate finance at Wind Telecom s.p.a. & Orascom Telecom Holding s.a.e., raising US$68 billion in capital and closing $67bn in M&A transactions.
In particular, he led the 2011 $25bn merger with VEON, the 2005 $17bn Wind Telecom leveraged buy-out and managed the 2009 €3.8bn debt restructuring of Wind Hellas in Greece.
Mr Nasr also serves on the board of Elemental Altus Royalties Corp and G Mining Ventures Corp.