Our Team

Gerard Barron is the Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of The Metals Company, a role he has held since 2017. A seasoned entrepreneur, he launched his first venture while still in university in Australia and has since built multiple global companies across battery manufacturing, media, technology, and future-focused resource development.

Gerard believes that the nodule resource can serve as the foundation for an American industrial revival by providing a secure, abundant supply of nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese to reduce dependence on foreign adversaries while supporting domestic manufacturing, energy security, and advanced defense supply chains. Guided by first-principles thinking, Gerard’s thesis is that resource extraction should occur where it has the least impact on people and nature—a philosophy that drives the Company’s work in the abyssal zone of the Pacific Ocean, 1,000 miles southwest of San Diego. Approximately 4,000 meters below sea level, there are no Indigenous communities, and biomass is measured in mere grams per square meter. The Company’s resource consists of polymetallic nodules that rest unattached on the seafloor. Its projects have been ranked as the world’s largest undeveloped nickel deposit, with more than 1.6 billion tonnes of polymetallic nodules in situ on the seafloor, containing high grades of nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese — essential inputs for U.S. battery production, grid infrastructure, and national defense technologies.

Anthony O’Sullivan has over 30 years mining experience with a track record of delivering innovative solutions across multiple continents both in the terrestrial and marine environments. He is an innovator in mining, who is part of The Metals Company because of his proven commitment to sustainable and ethical mining. As Chief Operating Officer of Nautilus he led exploration, engineering and design, project development, permitting and product marketing culminating in the declaration of 43-101 compliant resources, grant of the environmental permit and mining lease from the Government of Papua New Guinea, ore sales agreement with one of China’s leading copper producers Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group and the completion of project design and commencement of project construction. He was previously part of the BHP Billiton Global Exploration Leadership Team with responsibility for the company’s iron ore, bauxite, coal and non-porphyry base metal exploration portfolios. He is the named co-inventor on 5 subsea mining patents.

Dr. Greg Stone is an ocean scientist and explorer with more than 10,000 dives throughout Earth’s oceans, reaching depths of 18,000 feet using submarines, SCUBA, underwater habitats and robotics. Greg is widely known as a global thought leader who finds ways for humanity and the ocean to coexist and support each other in the modern world. He was a catalyst in the creation of the Ocean Health Index and specializes in sustainable fishing, aquaculture, climate adaptation and seamount ecology. Greg’s ability to communicate complex science is illustrated by his compelling TED and Davos talks, as well as his appearances in documentaries for Discovery and National Geographic. Greg’s numerous accolades and professional associations include the Explorers Club, a Pew Fellowship for Marine Conservation, recognition as a National Geographic Hero, the Order of Kiribati Medal, and the U.S. National Science Foundation/Navy Antarctic Service Medal. In 2008, The Boston Globe named him “Bostonian of the Year.” Previously, Greg was Senior Science Advisor to the Special Envoy for Ocean and the World Economic Forum Ocean Program, and served as Chief Scientist for Conservation International and head of its Global Ocean Program. He is also a former Senior Editor of the Marine Technology Society Journal. Greg currently calls Los Angeles home and looks out at his beloved Pacific Ocean.

Craig has over 15 years combined experience in public investing, metals research and investment banking in New York. He spent 12 years at King Street Capital Management, most recently as senior analyst in charge of recommending investments in the global metals & mining space. He analyzes electrification trends, battery chemistries and the resulting impacts on supply & demand for critical base metals, with particular expertise in nickel and copper. Craig also has significant experience navigating complex, legal-driven investments around the world, as King Street was one of the largest creditors in over a dozen global Lehman Brothers entities. He worked closely with administrators, creditors, lawyers and advisors to reach settlements, form JVs and accelerate recoveries, particularly in the US, UK, German, Swiss and Dutch Lehman administrations. He also spent two years as the top-tier analyst on the insurance & asset management investment banking team at Morgan Stanley.

Craig was raised in an iron mining family in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, working as a production truck driver in Cleveland-Cliffs iron mines during college summers, becoming intimately familiar with open pit operations as well as the environmental and social challenges of terrestrial mining. Craig graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.

Andy Jones brings over 30 years in technology and software development experience to The Metals Company and is a specialist in large-scale, business-critical and data-driven applications with a focus on security and technical excellence. Andy joins The Metals Company from healthcare data business Pavilion Health/PKS. He was previously at media services provider AdStream, where he oversaw growth from start-up to global adtech platform. Andy brings extensive experience as a hands-on technologist, systems architect, and a technology thought leader who provides advice and guidance to technology companies within media, legal, agri-tech and health-tech sectors.

Erika Ilves is an entrepreneur and seasoned strategy lead dedicated to creating the systems and conditions required to secure a safe future for the human species. She was co-founder of Offworld, an industrial robotics company, where she led a team of machine learning engineers to develop teachable mining robots, and was also co-founder of Shackleton Energy, where she developed an international public-private consortium to create technologies to extract water ice from the moon in order to fuel deep space missions from low Earth orbit, drastically reducing the costs of such missions. Erika’s 15 years of strategy consulting experience started with McKinsey & Company, where she served global and emerging markets financial institutions on strategy, performance and operational transformations; and later advised GCC governments and investors on transitioning to a green economy. Previously, Erika was an executive at videoconferencing technology firm TANDBERG (acquired by Cisco), where she was responsible for developing leadership and sales capability for the firm’s global sales force. At The Metals Company, Erika is working to build the world’s first vertically integrated clean energy ecosystem by establishing alliances with like-minded leaders in offshore, electric vehicles and renewable energy technology, as well as developing our transparent provenance strategy to enable The Metals Company to establish Clean Metals as a new purchasing category. She is fluent in English, Estonian, Russian and proficient in Danish and French.

Rutger is a dynamic and accomplished Project Manager with extensive experience in deep-sea mining, heavy lift engineering, and naval architecture. He has a proven track record of leading large-scale, technology-driven projects, managing multidisciplinary teams, and driving innovation across the maritime and offshore industries. As a key figure in the advancement of deep-sea mining technology, Rutger led the development of TMC’s Allseas-designed nodule collection system and oversaw its successful execution during NORI’s test mining campaign in 2022. Prior to this, he spearheaded the technical and operational development of the revolutionary single lift concept for decommissioning offshore oil and gas platforms—executed aboard the world’s largest construction vessel, Pioneering Spirit. Adept at strategic planning, budget management, and stakeholder engagement, Rutger consistently delivers complex projects to the highest safety and quality standards. He fosters a collaborative work environment and is recognized for his perseverance, enthusiasm, and direct, no-nonsense approach.

As The Metals Company’s Chief Accounting Officer, Claude is responsible for the oversight of internal and external reporting compliance and oversees financial matters and internal controls for the Company. He is a professional accountant (CPA, CA) with almost 25 years of progressive global mining experience leading the accounting and controllership function at multiple publicly-traded companies. Claude began his career at Canadian base-metals giants, Inco Limited and Noranda Inc, both public Canadian and US dual-listed entities, where he progressed to the Group Controller role reporting for the Noranda group of companies. He joined Centerra Gold Inc. in 2004, following its IPO, where he built the accounting and reporting function, as well as developed and implemented strong financial controls early in Centerra’s life. Claude managed Centerra’s early adoption of Sarbanes-Oxley controls and the company’s compliance with similar rules in Canada. He has played a key role in integrating finance organizations and navigating highly complex accounting issues related to Centerra’s various acquisitions. Over his 16 plus years at Centerra, he has proven to be highly skilled at implementing systems and building strong highly performing teams. His expertise spans IFRS and US GAAP, having managed the reporting of these public companies with Canadian and US regulators.

Dr. Jeffrey Donald has over 20 years of international experience in the mining & metallurgy business. Dr. Donald is a specialist in the interface between business strategy, capital project scoping, technology and operational excellence. He is an expert at managing the business case development of complex strategic projects in challenging international environments with multiple stakeholder interests. Dr. Donald has a broad knowledge of all aspects of the mining industry; nickel in particular, with a basis in metallurgy and process engineering. Dr. Donald has extensive project development experience, having managed portfolios of complex, strategic projects including greenfield developments, major expansions, environmental improvement & compliance, commercialization of novel technologies and operations improvement programs during his tenures at Hatch, Inco, Vale, PT Vale Indonesia and SNC Lavalin. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and degrees from Queen’s University at Kingston, ON.

Grant Lindner brings extensive experience in delivering complex resource projects in the construction and mining industries and has delivered over $26 billion in project value during his 25-year career at leading engineering and construction group, Bechtel, and mining major, BHP. He has held senior executive roles for large-scale mining, smelter and refinery, material handling and marine projects and has a record of building high-performing teams to ensure efficient project delivery, with a focus on building safe and capital-efficient greenfield and brownfield projects. As NORI Project Director, Grant oversees the delivery and scaling of the Company’s first polymetallic nodule project.

Michael has a PhD from the University of Texas and completed post-doctoral studies at Queen Mary University in London. He has 25+ years of experience in the field of environmental management and impact assessment with a focus on the mining and renewable energy sectors. With certifications as an Environmental Practitioner and Environmental Impact Assessor from the Environmental Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ), he has successfully delivered highly complex Environmental Impact Assessments for large infrastructure projects in all corners of the globe. Michael is also an accomplished marine biologist, he led a team to map marine turtle nesting and migration patterns on the northern coast of the Sinai Peninsula as part of a Darwin Initiative for the Conservation of Species project and has conducted marine conservation programs and baseline studies in Egypt, Indonesia, Vanuatu and Australia.

Corey is an experienced community and social performance manager with experience working in the South Pacific and in Canada’s North. Corey began his career working in government before transitioning to the mining industry where he worked with Rio Tinto leading their community relations team at the Diavik Diamond Mine. While at Diavik, Corey developed sector leading practices for Indigenous business development and renegotiated modern industry leading benefit agreements. Outside of work, Corey enjoys spending time with family in the mountains and sits on the Squamish Waldorf School Board.

Kristin ​is a seasoned business development strategist with ​combined expertise ​in energy materials, energy procurement, and ​market analysis. Prior to leading business development in ​North ​America ​for TMC, Kristin served as Director of ​Business Development for Edison Energy, an independent energy consulting firm, ​helping commercial and industrial clients build decarbonization strategies ​across ​energy procurement, distributed generation and ​efficiency projects, and ​impactful sourcing of global renewable energy certificates and ​carbon ​offsets. ​Prior, Kristin spent ​4 years supporting energy conversion ​and storage technologies ​at manufacturing ​multinationals, ​startups, national laboratories, and universities. Kristin started her career ​working in solar project ​development and key account ​management, aligning business ​cases with policy, finance, and engineering.

Lesi Olsson joined The Metals Company in 2024 after having served as a Director on the Board of TMC subsidiary NORI since 2023. A veteran public servant with several decades’ experience working within the Government of the Republic of Nauru and various government entities, Lesi began his career in 1979 as a junior personnel officer working his way to General Manager in Nauru’s mining industry. He later served as Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure and in state-owned enterprises, Eigigu Holdings and Eigigu Solutions. Lesi has served on many boards including within Nauru’s airline and shipping sectors. Lesi received a group diploma in management studies back in the 1980s.

Claire is a benthic ecologist and marine environmental monitoring specialist with over 25 years’ experience in planning, managing and leading multi-discipline offshore surveys. In recent years she has specialised in deep water survey operations in the Arctic, Atlantic and North Pacific, including the Clarion Clipperton Zone. She has worked in the oil & gas, wet renewables, offshore dredging and aggregates, and deep-sea mining sectors her entire career, on a wide range of large offshore infrastructure projects at FEED, construction, installation, testing, maintenance, and decommissioning stages for companies including Chevron, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, BP, Shell, Wintershall, Dong Energy, RWE and TMC. She has participated in over 150 offshore campaigns to date in the context of EIA monitoring, strategic environmental assessment, habitat mapping, and environmental characterisation studies. Most of them as Client Representative, Party Chief or Principle/Lead. Claire’s extensive knowledge of monitoring equipment and methodologies gained from working offshore for a wide range of industries, academic partners, and regulators, together with her contract and project management experience enables her to successfully deliver offshore campaigns that are within project and regulatory scope both on a technical and HSE basis, and within the allocated project timelines. She applies the highest QA-QC standards in the field to ensure samples and data contributing to environmental assessments are of the highest standard, and scientifically robust. She joined TMC in 2020 as Offshore Technical Lead and has since lead 5 TMC offshore sampling campaigns, including the NORI Collector Test Monitoring campaigns in 2022.

Agnes is a well-versed finance professional with over 20 years of internationally-gained experience. She started her career in public accounting at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, serving clients across various industries and countries. Agnes’ first job in mining was as corporate controller at a publicly-listed Canadian gold mining company where she worked in different finance fields at both head office and two mine sites in West Africa during her ten-year tenure. Gaining extensive operational experience in a multi-cultural environment and, as an acknowledged mentor, Agnes helped build robust cost controls and established systems and processes to support a well-oiled finance function. Prior to joining The Metals Company, Agnes was Head of the Operations Finance Team and her responsibilities included oversight of the financial planning and analysis function, ERP system management and functional improvement of reporting capabilities. She was also accountable for the full financial control of a new mining project from exploration through development and construction to operation. Agnes has a master’s degree in economics with majors in finance and marketing and a special law diploma for economist. She is a chartered accountant in Canada and Hungary and also a fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in the UK. 

Adam has over 11 years’ experience as a professional editor and writer. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from Griffith University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Writing, Editing, and Publishing from the University of Queensland. Before joining The Metals Company (TMC), he edited and managed four academic journals for the Association for Information Systems—an international, not-for-profit, professional association for information systems (IS) scholars. In addition, he has worked extensively as a freelance editor across myriad disciplines (e.g., business, economics, linguistics, philosophy, education, etc.). He has a particular passion for helping authors communicate in plain (i.e., clear, concise, and accessible) language and working with authors from diverse and non-English-speaking backgrounds. At TMC, Adam brings this experience and passion together in his role as the editor for the company’s forthcoming environmental impact statement (EIS) for the NORI-D Project. Outside of work, Adam loves technology, fitness, and literature. He also wishes more people appreciated Patrick White—the only Australian to ever win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Dan has over 15 years of experience in international development, renewable energy and media ventures. He founded Planetwize Strategies in 2006 and has worked with clients around the world to develop brands, strategy and programs for making, measuring and communicating impact. He was VP of Impact and Communications at solar mini-grid pioneer Powerhive, in East Africa, where he leveraged communications and media to increase uptake of solutions to the global energy access challenge. Dan served as Communications Officer for The Christensen Fund where he led the foundation’s strategic communications initiatives in support of Indigenous communities around the world, and was previously the VP of Sustainability for Better Energy Systems where he developed strategy, marketing and social entrepreneurial applications in East Africa with Solio, one of the world’s first commercial micro-solar technologies. Dan received his Masters degree in environment and development from the London School of Economics and is an accomplished filmmaker and musician.

Rory has over 4 years of experience in public relations and communications, having worked as a consultant for the London-based outfit, The Cape Partnership. As a consultant, Rory developed communications packages and strategies for the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, as well as Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Dr. Denis Mukwege. His work also included various C-suite speech-writing activities, including for the CEO of Gulftainer, the world’s largest privately-owned port operator. Rory has a passion for politics and led The Cape Partnership in its Brexit-related analysis for Gulf-based clients. He earned an MSc in African Studies from the University of Oxford, where his research focussed on the Ugandan government’s policies towards the challenges and opportunities presented by artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Prior to his Master’s degree, Rory pursued a BA in English at Rhodes University in South Africa.

Rachel is an experienced communities practitioner with a passion for achieving sustainable social performance outcomes for both companies and communities. She has a decade of experience in the mining industry supporting major mining operations and exploration projects. Having lived and worked in North America, Africa, Asia, and Australia, she is a multilingual communicator who can operate in diverse social contexts. She earned her MA in cultural anthropology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. As part of her MA research, she undertook three ethnographic field trips to investigate how rapid socioeconomic changes in post-socialist Tanzania were experienced locally, through the perspectives of a group of single mothers. Outside of work, Rachel is passionate about sustainable urban place making and her hobbies include ikebana and experimenting in the kitchen.

Matt Boulby has spent his entire career in metallurgy, starting off working on gold projects in Vietnam, Guatemala and Nunavut (Canada). Soon after joining the industry he found himself with a personal dilemma – he understood the necessity of metals for our world’s future, but was hesitant about contributing to the mining industry’s potential negative impact on both the environment and within social communities. He then joined the Onshore Development team at The Metals Company, and immediately felt as though he was contributing to a solution: continuing to put key critical metals into circulation while reducing the environmental and social impact of doing so. Since joining TMC, Matt has contributed to the design of our near-zero solid waste flowsheet, supported the execution of four pyrometallurgical pilot scale campaigns, managed our lab-scale testwork programs and helped develop key onshore commercial partnerships.

Matt received a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario in 2019 and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario. In 2022, Matt was named the Emerging Professional in Pyrometallurgy by the Canadian Institute of Mining. Outside of work, he enjoys sports and travelling – having visited over 35 countries.

Patrick holds a PhD in Marine Biogeochemistry from the University of Bristol and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, where he is a visiting postdoctoral research fellow. Patrick is an experienced marine researcher whose Doctoral research formed part of the UK’s flagship Changing Arctic Programme where he studied the effects of changing sea ice conditions on organic carbon cycling in the Arctic Ocean, chapters of which have now been published as research articles in peer-reviewed journals. Patrick has participated in several offshore research expeditions and also brings expertise in molecular ecology, microbiology, and remote sensing, among other areas. Prior to his PhD, Patrick completed an MSc. at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, where he participated in a research cruise to the oligotrophic South Pacific gyre to investigate pelagic phosphorous cycling.

Sandra is an Accounts Payable Specialists with over 10 years’ worth of combined experience in accounts payable management, banking operations, financial reporting, and bookkeeping functions for various publicly traded companies with global operations in the energy, mining, and automotive sectors. Sandra began her career analysing sales trends and consumer behaviour patterns, providing actionable insights to the management team responsible for the operations in Latin America at Honda Motors Co. In 2017, Sandra joined Frontera Energy Corporation as an accounts payable analyst, before transitioning into the role of finance coordinator, where she acquired valuable experience implementing best-in-class practices in accounts payable and multinational banking operations. She was actively involved in the accounting cycle and financial reporting process for the business, while acting as an effective bridge of communication for the operations team overseas. At TMC, Sandra is responsible for maintaining the accounting workflow of TMC vendors activity and employee expenses in compliance with internal controls. Sandra graduated as an engineer, majoring in Operations Management, and has completed various professional accounting courses.

William Li is an experienced senior manager and entrepreneur with more than two decades of experience working between Australia and China in both the private and public sectors. He has been active in the minerals and mining industry since 2002, developing product off-take agreements; project development strategy and financing; engineering and research development and procurement of a number of global commodities. William has been an active participant in the evolution of deep sea mining over the last eight years, playing a key role on a team that initiated one of the world’s first deep sea minerals offtake agreements in a multi-year, international negotiation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from Nankai University, China, an MBA from QUT, Australia and has completed course work toward a certificate of extractive metallurgy. He currently lives in Brisbane, Australia.

Lisa brings strong managerial experience following a 5 year tenure as Deputy CEO of Nauru Post, where she helped the corporation establish networks with other international postal corporations and work collaboratively to regional and international standards. Having served as Director for the Youth Affairs Department at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Lisa’s deep knowledge of community and stakeholder groups on the island means she is well placed to support the development and implementation of the range of community, social, capacity building and educational programmes we support in country.

Having spent his professional career contributing to unique environmental and resource undertakings in the Pacific Islands, Indonesia and Australia, Pat Clarke provides operational and project management support to The Metals Company. An engineer by training, Pat enjoys working with multidisciplinary teams to overcome complex project development challenges. With a passion for all things related to the ocean, Pat is focused on progressing the Metals Company’s vision and developing solutions for the sustainability challenges of tomorrow.

Nicolas has over 10 years of experience in sustainability strategy, ESG reporting and institutional relations. He is dedicated to tackle the most pressing sustainability challenges of our time. Before joining TMC, Nicolas was responsible for the sustainability strategy area of Grupo México’s mining division, where he led the development of sustainability targets, KPIs, monitoring systems, and the company’s ESG-related disclosures. Nicolas held several other sustainability-related positions in the private and public sectors in Mexico, and as an entrepreneur. He is a seasoned traveller fluent in English, French and Spanish. He holds a MSc in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Edinburgh, and a bachelor’s degree in European Studies from the University of Maastricht.

Over the last 12 years Jordan has worked on major coal, gas and bauxite projects in operational leadership positions spanning; human resources, construction execution, contracts management, community relations and project risk management. Working with large clients including BHP, Rio Tinto, Origin, QCLNG and QCG in contractor and client-side roles she has experience in both greenfield and brownfield environments on complex multibillion dollar projects. Jordan brings strong experience in developing fit for purpose policies, procedures and processes to support efficient and effective execution methodologies in both study and execution environments. Leveraging her strong stakeholder management skills, Jordan understands what is required to build a high performing team and drive engagement considering complexities and constraints associated with contracting strategies, cost and schedule.

With 15 years’ experience in Project Controls & Analysis, Adam has worked on major mining and oil and gas projects in senior Project Controls roles in both domestic and international locations. Adam brings robust experience in project controls and finance across different contracting types and strategies in all project phases including feasibility studies, execution and project close out.
He has worked on large complex projects both in EPCM and Client roles in home offices and field-based positions. As a leader Adam has strong coordination and management skills and has proven experience in developing high performing Project Control teams. Leveraging his pragmatic approach to delivery, Adam is focused on identifying process efficiencies to ensure a ‘best for project’ outcome considering all stakeholder interests.

With over 15 years of experience in project controls Hayden has worked on several complex projects from pre-feasibility through to commissioning. In his career to date, Hayden has had extensive site experience and has been involved in execution activities across refinery, mine, materials handling and port facilities. Hayden’s experience spans several commodities including, alumina, LNG, bauxite, lithium and coal in both domestic and international locations (Australia, Serbia and Germany). With experience in direct hire, contract management and owners team Hayden, brings robust experience in project controls application at all levels of detail.

Brendan has 15 years’ experience in project controls & analysis, working across several complex multibillion dollar projects in Upstream Gas, Infrastructure, Marine, Roads, Bridges, Railway Stations and Utilities. Across these projects, Brendan has worked with project development teams to support tender preparation and in execution focused roles specifically covering, project planning and reporting, logistics, field engineering, commissioning and handover. Leveraging his collaborative stakeholder management skills, Brendan is able to produce efficient ‘fit for purpose’ pre-construction and project measurement outputs to inform management and drive performance.

Alexander Webber is a geologist and geochemist with over ten years experience working within the mining and economic geology field. He has investigated the genesis of porphyry and epithermal copper-gold, seafloor sulfide and manganese nodules, sedimentary copper-cobalt and orogenic gold deposits. His academic work has attracted awards such as the Masanori Sakuyama Prize for “excellence in a published work”. Since his second post-doctoral research position, Alex has worked as a consultant to one of the world’s largest mining companies, has lead a team of data engineers for an offshore geotechnical company, has become proficient in python programming, GIS and data management, and is now working as GIS and Geoscience Specialist at the The Metals Company.

Joaquim Bento is a physical oceanographer with over 20 years’ professional and academic experience in ocean science. Until 2022, he worked as a lecturer and researcher at a leading university in Chile where he participated in academic and industry-driven projects, and co-authored several high-impact publications. In recent years, he contributed to an open-source computational system for operational meteorology and oceanography as a core developer and discovered and mapped deep-sea gas hydrate reservoirs along the Chilean margins. At The Metals Company, he works with a multidisciplinary team ensuring that all environmental data from TMC’s contract areas is openly accessible in line with the company’s transparency initiatives and ocean science best practice in data quality, processing, and formatting. He brings extensive experience in high-performance data processing, data management, visualisation, and hydrodynamic numerical models to the company.

Michelle is Assistant Corporate Secretary and supports the Board of Directors and General Counsel & Corporate Secretary in all board-related and legal matters. She has extensive experience in legal departments of companies with a multi-national footprint. Her expertise lies in legal entity management, governance, compliance and transaction support. She has served as the corporate secretary of hundreds of legal entities in dozens of jurisdictions including in the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe. Michelle has been instrumental in the successful consummation of numerous mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and financing transactions from negotiation to due diligence and closing, and has supported boards and leadership teams in complex governance and compliance matters. Michelle worked for many years in the Caribbean power division of a global trading and investment company based in Japan and, prior to joining TMC, worked in a European reinsurance company specialized in the assumption of legacy business where she managed the company’s global corporate entity structure and all board-related matters.

Felipe is a chemical oceanographer with a strong background in marine biogeochemistry and organic geochemistry. He holds a BSc in Oceanography from Universidade Federal do Paraná, an MSc in Chemical and Geological Oceanography from Universidade de São Paulo, and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Bristol. Felipe gained extensive academic experience as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Bristol (2018-2022) and Université Libre de Bruxelles (2022-2024), where he conducted high-impact research and mentored student projects. His work primarily focused on quantifying seafloor biogeochemical processes in the Arctic Ocean, Antarctica, and (sub)tropical regions. His research on organic matter degradation and preservation, nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicon) cycling, seafloor pH and carbonate dynamics, and benthic-pelagic coupling is documented in 15 peer-reviewed publications and was awarded by the Challenger-Woodward Fellowship in 2022. Felipe has extensive experience with offshore research expeditions, particularly in geochemical sampling and analysis of seawater and sediment. He brings a diverse skill set in marine biogeochemistry, organic geochemistry, and data interpretation to The Metals Company Environmental team.

Jack is a data and GIS specialist with over 8 years of experience delivering geospatial solutions across international and UK-based roles. Passionate about leveraging data to address real-world challenges, he brings expertise in GIS analysis, remote sensing, and database management. Jack’s past roles include GIS Officer and Database Manager at the South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute, where they led spatial analysis and drone-based terrain modeling projects for the Falkland Islands Government, and GIS Assistant at SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK, where they provided geospatial insights for commercial operations. They are proficient in QGIS, Python, PostgreSQL, and webGIS platforms, and hold certifications in PRINCE2 and APM project management, with a successful track record of delivering multidisciplinary projects.

Richard is a Multimedia Manager and Cameraman with over 15 years of experience delivering end-to-end production, from concept and filming through to editing, photography, motion graphics, and aerial photography. He has worked globally with large oil and gas brands, engineering companies, sporting associations, and charities—often in remote and high-pressure environments including offshore installations. His most recent client portfolio includes work for Fugro, FIFA, Shell, JFD, University of Aberdeen and the CLPT Group. Since 2019, Richard has worked alongside The Metals Company (TMC), documenting the progression of its offshore work first-hand: he documented the Company’s resource estimation efforts; supported most of the environmental campaigns between 2020 and 2023; and was on location for the highly successful pilot campaign in late 2022—an opportunity that put him close to the key moments as they happened. Outside work, Richard enjoys cycling and walking—often with the family—and supports his children’s local football clubs, providing match photography for the teams and wider club community.

Ed brings over three years of experience in social research and evaluation, having served as a Senior Researcher at the global research firm Ipsos in the UK. During his time there, he managed large-scale qualitative and quantitative research projects for various UK government departments and industry stakeholders within the Transport and Infrastructure sector; pioneering innovative research methods for richer insights. Ed’s early involvement in local politics inspired him to pursue a degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham. Beyond his professional achievements, Ed is an enthusiastic golfer and an avid home cook.

Jeroen Ingels is a deep-sea benthic ecologist with more than 20 years of experience studying marine biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, natural variability, and responses to environmental disturbance. He holds a PhD in Marine Biology and Deep-Sea Ecology from Ghent University, Belgium, and has held research positions at Ghent University, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Florida State University, and Earth Sciences New Zealand. Jeroen has participated in oceanographic research campaigns in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern oceans, and recently led a month-long research voyage to investigate abyssal ecosystems in New Zealand waters. His research combines field observations, experiments, and multidisciplinary ecological datasets to assess benthic communities and their responses to natural and human pressures. His recent work has focused on environmental baseline studies, ecological indicators, and the potential effects of polymetallic nodule collection in the Clarion–Clipperton Zone and other nodule ecosystems across the Pacific. Jeroen has authored or co-authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications and has extensive experience connecting deep-sea science with environmental assessment, conservation, and international ocean policy.