Applied Minerals Inc
Officers & Directors
Mario Concha, Director
Mr. Concha is the President of Mario Concha and Associates, LLC, a firm providing
consulting services to senior executives and members of boards of directors. In
addition to providing consulting services, he has served as a director of The
Plaza Group, a chemical marketer; Arclin, Ltd., a manufacturer of specialty resins;
and Auro Resources, Corp, a mineral exploration company with holdings in Colombia’s
gold region. Prior to founding Mario Concha and Associates in 2005, Mr. Concha
was an officer of Georgia Pacific Corporation and president of its Chemical Division
from 1998 to 2005. Prior to Georgia Pacific, Mr. Concha participated in the formation
of GS Industries, a manufacturer of specialty steels for the mining industry,
through a leveraged buyout of Armco Inc’s Worldwide Grinding Systems Division.
He then served as President of its International Division from 1992 to 1998. From
1985 to 1992, Mr. Concha was Vice President-International for Occidental Chemical
Corporation. Prior to OxyChem, he served in several senior management positions
at Union Carbide Corporation in the United States and overseas.
Mr. Concha is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in Chemical Engineering.
He is a member of the American Chemical Society and of the American Institute
of Chemical Engineers.
Key attributes, experience and skills: Mr. Concha has over 40 years experience
as a hands-on corporate executive. He has first-hand industry knowledge, gained
from senior executive positions in various industries, including chemicals, plastics,
forest products, metals, and mining. In addition to manufacturing operations,
he has had extensive involvement in marketing, sales, and finance. Mr. Concha
also brings corporate governance experience, having served on both public and
private company boards.
John F. Levy, Non-Executive Chairman and Director
Mr. Levy became a director of the Company in January 2008. Mr. Levy currently
serves as the Chief Executive Officer and principal consultant for Board Advisory
(the “Levy Company”), a consulting firm established to assist public
companies, or companies aspiring to be public, with corporate governance, corporate
compliance, ethics, financial reporting and financial strategies. He has held
this role since May 2005. Mr. Levy is a recognized corporate governance and financial
reporting expert with over 30 years of progressive financial, accounting and business
experience; including nine years in public accounting with three national accounting
firms and having served as Chief Financial Officer of both public and private
companies for over 13 years. Mr. Levy currently serves on the board of directors
of two other public companies: Takung Art Co., Ltd. (since February 2016), operator
of an electronic online platform or artists, art dealers and art investors to
offer and trade in ownership units over valuable artwork; and Washington Prime
Group, Inc. (since June 2016), a retail REIT that owns, develops and manages 114
shopping centers in the United States. Mr. Levy also served on the board of directors
of Applied Energetics, Inc., a company specializing in the development and application
of high power lasers, high voltage electronics, advanced optical systems and energy
management systems technologies, until February 2016; Gilman Ciocia, Inc., a former
financial planning and tax preparation firm, until October 2013; BrightPoint,
Inc., a former NASDAQ listed device lifecycle services provider to the wireless
industry, until October 2012; and China Commercial Credit, Inc., a financial services
firm operating in China, until December 2016. Mr. Levy served as Interim Chief
Financial Officer of Universal Food & Beverage Company from November 2005
to March 2006. Universal Food & Beverage Company filed a voluntary petition
under the provisions of Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Act on August
31, 2007. Mr. Levy also served as a board member and program chair for the New
Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (“NACD”)
from October 2007 to June 2012. Mr. Levy is a frequent speaker on the roles and
responsibilities of board members and audit committee members. He has authored
and presented numerous courses on finance, management and governance to state
accounting societies including THE 21ST CENTURY DIRECTOR: Ethical and Legal Responsibilities
of Board Members. Mr. Levy is a Certified Public Accountant with several years
of experience. Mr. Levy is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the
University of Pennsylvania, and received his MBA from St. Josephs University
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Levy is a NACD Board Leadership Fellow.
Mr. Levy is a Certified Public Accountant with nine years experience with the
national public accounting firms of Ernst & Young, Laventhol & Horwath,
and Grant Thornton. Mr. Levy has a B.S. degree in economics from the Wharton School
of the University of Pennsylvania and received his M.B.A. from St. Josephs University
(PA).
Key attributes, experience and skills: Mr. Levy has over 35 years of progressive
financial, accounting, and business experience, including having served as Chief
Financial Officer of both public and private companies for over 13 years. Mr.
Levy brings to the board expertise in corporate governance and compliance matters
along with extensive experience gained from numerous senior executive positions
with public companies. Further, Mr. Levy’s service on the boards of directors
of public companies in a variety of industries allows him to bring a diverse blend
of experiences to the Company’s board.
Robert T. Betz
From 2000 through his retirement in 2002, Mr. Betz was the President of Cognis
Corp., the North American division of Cognis GmbH, a $4 billion worldwide supplier
of specialty chemicals and nutritional ingredients spun off from Henkel AG &
Company ("Henkel"). From 1989 through 2000, Mr. Betz held a number of
management positions at Henkel including Executive VP and President of its Emery
Group, a leading manufacturer of oleochemicals, and President of its Chemicals
Group for North America.
From 1979 through 1989, Mr. Betz worked in a number of manufacturing and operations
capacities for the Emery Division of National Distillers and Chemicals Corp.,
eventually rising to President of the division. Mr. Betz began his career in the
specialty chemicals industry by joining Emery Industries in 1963. Between 1963
and 1979 he worked for the company as Market Development Representative, Manager
of Corporate Planning, Vice President of Operations - Emery (Canada), Manager
of Commercial Development, and General Manager of Business Groups. Emery Industries
was sold to National Distillers and Chemicals Corp. in 1979.
Since 2003, Mr. Betz has been the owner of Personal Care Ingredients, LLC, a privately
owned marketer of natural products to the personal care industry. Mr. Betz also
serves as a director for Bio-Botanica, a manufacturer of natural extracts, and
The Plaza Group, a marketer of petrochemicals.
Mr. Betz holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.B.A. from the University
of Cincinnati. Hes also attended the Program for Management Development at Harvard
University.
Key attributes experience and skills. During Mr. Betz’s career, he has been
involved in developing new products or new markets for existing products. Several
of these products grew into sizeable businesses. He managed multiple chemical
manufacturing facilities and managed a multi-billion dollar polyethylene business.
He was responsible for profit and loss for businesses with sales of $900 million.
While heading the chemical operations, he was responsible for all aspects of the
business: manufacturing, sales, R&D, IT, HS&E, HR, purchasing, engineering,
and legal. His career has continuously involved developing, manufacturing, and
selling products directed at most of the markets that Applied Minerals is attempting
to penetrate. Since his retirement, he has served on the boards of three chemical-related,
private companies: Plaza, Syrgis, and Bio-Botanica..
David A. Taft, Director
Mr. Taft is the President of IBS Capital LLC, a private investment company based
in Boston, Massachusetts, which he founded in 1990. Prior to founding IBS Capital
LLC, Mr. Taft spent ten years working in corporate finance with Drexel Burnham
Lambert, Winthrop Financial and Merrill Lynch. Mr. Taft is a graduate of Amherst
College and Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.
Key attributes, experience and skills: Mr. Taft has over 30 years experience as
a corporate investment banker and the manager of IBS Capital LLC, a private investment
fund. Mr. Taft brings significant leadership, financial expertise, business development
skills, and corporate restructuring experience to the Company’s Board of
Directors. The investments Mr. Taft has made through his management of the IBS
Turnaround Fund has, on occasion, required him to advise companies on issues such
as corporate governance, capital raising, balance sheet restructuring, and general
business strategy. IBS Capital LLC, under Mr. Taft’s direction, has been
a large shareholder of Applied Minerals, Inc. for a number of years.
Ali Zamani, Director
Ali Zamani has served as a Portfolio Manager at Gefinor Capital Management since
February 2014 and as Chief Investment Officer of the GEF Opportunities Fund, an
opportunistic, value-oriented, liquid public markets fund. Prior to Gefinor, Ali
Zamani was a Principal at SLZ Capital Management, a New York-based asset management
firm, from July 2012 to December 2013. Prior thereto, he was a Portfolio Manager
at Goldman Sachs from 2004 to 2012 where he focused on the energy, materials,
utilities and industrials sectors. From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Zamani was a mergers
and acquisitions analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, a boutique New York-based
investment bank focused on the energy and utilities sectors.
Mr. Zamani holds a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University
of Pennsylvania, where he graduated magna cum laude.
Key attributes, experience and skills: Mr. Zamani has over 14 years of financial
industry experience, including 8 years as a senior investment professional at
Goldman Sachs & Co. Mr. Zamani brings significant capital markets expertise,
including extensive mining and industrial sector investing experience. Additionally,
Mr. Zamani brings a unique shareholder/investor prespective to the board having
been a major shareholder in numerous similar companies over his career.
Andre M. Zeitoun, Chief Executive Officer, President, Director
Mr. Zeitoun is President and CEO and has served in those positions since January
1, 2009.
Mr. Zeitoun was a Portfolio Manager at SAC Capital/CR Intrinsic Investors from
March 2007 through December 2008. At SAC, he led a team of six professionals and
managed a several hundred million dollar investment portfolio focused on companies
that required a balance sheet recapitalization and/or operational turnaround.
Many of these investments required Mr. Zeitoun to take an active role in the turnaround
process. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Zeitoun headed the Special Situations Group at
RBC Dain Rauscher as a Senior Vice President and head of the division. He managed
all group matters related to sales, trading, research and the investment of the
firm’s proprietary capital. From 1999 to 2003 Mr. Zeitoun was a Senior Vice
President at Solomon Smith Barney. In this role, Mr. Zeitoun led a Special Situations
sales trading research team serving middle market institutions. Mr. Zeitoun is
a graduate of Canisius College.
Key attributes, experience and skills: Mr. Zeitoun has over 16 years experience
identifying, allocating capital to, and taking an active role in corporate situations
requiring a balance sheet recapitalization and/or operational restructuring. Since
January 2009, Mr. Zeitoun has spearheaded effort to stabilize the Company’s
balance sheet, raise critically needed capital, engage industry-leading consultants
to quantify and characterize the Company’s Dragon Mine resource, increase
processing capabilities, establish a marketing infrastructure, and lead the marketing
effort. During his time as President and Chief Executive Officer of Applied Minerals,
Inc., Mr. Zeitoun has developed a level of expertise in the area of the commercialization
of halloysite and iron oxide applications.
Christopher T. Carney, Chief Financial Officer
From February 2009 through May 2012, Mr. Carney was the Interim Chief Financial
Officer of the Company. From May 2012 through August 2015, Mr. Carney was a VP
of Business Development for the Company. Mr. Carney was appointed Chief Financial
Officer of the Company in August 2015 when previous Chief Financial Officer resigned.
From March 2007 until December 2008, Mr. Carney was an analyst at SAC Capital/CR
Intrinsic Investors, LLC, a hedge fund, where he evaluated the debt and equity
securities of companies undergoing financial restructurings and operational turnarounds.
From March 2004 until October 2006, Mr. Carney was a distressed debt and special
situations analyst for RBC Dain Rauscher Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr.
Carney graduated with a BA in Computer Science from Lehman College and an MBA
in Finance from Tulane University.
William Gleeson, General Counsel
Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Gleeson was a partner at K&L Gates, LLP
for eleven years, focusing on various areas of corporate and securities law. From
January 2008 until September 2011 when he joined the Company, he served as Applied
Minerals, Inc.’s outside counsel, a time during which he acquired an in-depth
understanding of the Company’s business. Mr. Gleeson received his J.D. from
the University of Michigan, from which he also received his undergraduate degree.
Applied Minerals Inc currently has 32 employees.
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