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Board and Management
Rare Earths Americas was established and is managed by a highly experienced team of mine finders, financiers, and builders. Our team has a track record of combining technical insight with financial acumen to unlock value.
Donald Swartz,
Chief Executive Officer
Dan Shribman,
Non-Executive Chairman
Reta Jo Lewis,
Non-Executive Director
Ivy Estabrooke, 
PhD,
Non-Executive Director
Keith D. Phillips, 
Non-Executive Director
Hugo Schumann, 
Non-Executive Director
Jennifer Grafton ,
General Counsel and COO
Cheryl Kerr,
Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer
Kevin G. McCarty,
Vice President of Exploration
Tommy von Finckenstein,
Director, Business Development
Francisco Tomazoni Neto,
Brazil Country Manager
Donald Swartz, Chief Executive Officer
• Former CEO of American Rare Earths Limited
• 20+ years in leadership roles across the U.S. and international resources sector
• Former SVP at Vista Energy Holdings, developing two operational mining projects in Alberta and Nova Scotia
• Former Chief Commercial Officer at Westmoreland Coal Company (Nasdaq: WLB)
• Former VP at John T. Boyd Company
• CP and QP for International Reporting, SME R.M.
• BS Mining Engineering, West Virginia University; MBA, University of Denver

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Bernardo da Veiga, 
Managing Director
Bernardo started his career as an Investment Banker with UBS & Azure Capital in
Australia, where he worked in a team that advised many leading companies in
mergers & acquisitions, capital raising, hybrid instruments and debt advisory.

Prior to founding Brazilian Rare Earths, Bernardo spent the last decade in senior
leadership roles in a number of mining companies in Brazil, including as CEO of a
producing tungsten mine, Managing Director of a gold exploration company and from
2015 to 2021 CEO of South American Ferro Metals Limited, a privately owned iron ore
producer that grew from a bankrupt business in 2015 producing c.700ktpa when
Bernardo took over as CEO to a highly profitable company producing c2.5Mtpa in 2021.

Bernardo has also held a number of executive and non executive directorship roles in
ASX listed as well as private mining and mining services companies.

Bernardo holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with First Class Honours, a PhD in
Financial and Economic Modelling from the University of Western Australia and a
Diploma in Financial Strategy from Oxford University. He graduated top of his class at
both the UWA Honours program and Oxford. He is also a Graduate of the Australian
Institute of Company Directors.

Bernardo has lectured at UWA, Curtin and FINSIA. He has also been a prize winning
speaker at several international conferences. In addition, Bernardo has published
everal articles in international scholarly journals and has acted as an expert witness
on a number of court cases.
Dan Shribman, Non-Executive Chairman
• Founder and CEO of Clamantis Holdings LLC, and investment and advisory firm focused on small-cap public and pre-IPO private companies
• Former Chief Investment Officer at B. Riley Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: RILY) a public holding company
• Former Portfolio Manager at Anchorage Capital Group, LLC a special situation asset manager
• Held former roles at Lazard Frères and Tinicum, a private equity firm
• Serves or has served on the boards of over 10 public and private companies, including Alta Equipment Group, Inc. (NYSE: ALTG), Eos Energy Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: EOSE), and Great American Group
• AB, Dartmouth College
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Todd Hannigan,
Founder
Todd Hannigan has over 25 years of global experience in natural resources as company founder, chief executive officer, private capital investor and non-executive director. In these lead roles Mr. Hannigan has helped build multiple billion-dollar companies in the private and public markets. Mr. Hannigan has worked internationally in the extraction and resources sector for Aston Resources, Xstrata Coal, Hanson PLC, BHP Billiton and MIM. Mr. Hannigan holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) from The University of Queensland and an MBA from INSEAD.
Reta Jo Lewis, Non-Executive Director
• Reta Jo Lewis is a global business strategist, lawyer, and advisor with more than three decades of experience spanning international trade, export finance, transatlantic relations, government affairs and subnational diplomacy. She served as the 27th Chairman, President, and CEO of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM).

• During her tenure, she oversaw $135 billion in financing authority and led EXIM’s expansion to 177 countries, authorizing more than $22 billion in financing that supported over 150,000 U.S. jobs and exports.

• She currently serves as Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains

• Lewis holds a J.D. from Emory University School of Law, an M.S.A.J. from American University, and a B.A. from the University of Georgia

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Dominic Allen,
Non Executive Director
Dominic is a Chartered Accountant with over 10 years commercial experience, including senior roles with Rio Tinto Limited and Oyu Tolgoi LLC. Dominic previously worked for Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services, completing multiple resource and industrial transactions both in Australia and internationally.
Ivy Estabrooke, PhD, Non-Executive Director
• Ivy is an accomplished technology and innovation executive with deep expertise in commercialization, strategy, and governance at the intersection of national and economic security.

• She serves as Strategic Account Executive for Defense at RTI International, driving business growth and advising public sector leaders on technology development for strategic impact. Her prior executive roles include Vice President positions at IDbyDNA—acquired by Illumina (Nasdaq: ILMN)—and PolarityTE (Nasdaq: PTE).

• Ivy holds a doctorate in Neuroscience from Georgetown University and a masters in national resource strategy from the National Defense University. She serves on multiple advisory and governance boards and previously served on the board of Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE: UUUU).
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Dominic Allen,
Non Executive Director
Dominic is a Chartered Accountant with over 10 years commercial experience, including senior roles with Rio Tinto Limited and Oyu Tolgoi LLC. Dominic previously worked for Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services, completing multiple resource and industrial transactions both in Australia and internationally.
Keith D. Phillips, Non-Executive Director
• Keith is the Former CEO of Piedmont Lithium, overseeing its inception to the completion of its merger with Sayona Mining in 2025. Under his leadership Piedmont achieved a peak market capitalization of $1.3 billion, growing from an early-stage exploration project in North Carolina to a global lithium producer.

• Prior to joining Piedmont Mr. Phillips had a distinguished 30-year career on Wall Street, where he managed strategic and financing transactions representing over $100 billion in aggregate value. Among other positions, Mr. Phillips led the mining investment banking teams for Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, and Dahlman Rose, having previously served as head of Canadian Investment Banking Services for Goldman Sachs.

• Keith earned his Master of Business Administration in Finance from The University of Chicago and Bachelor of Commerce from Laurentian University in Canada.

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Dominic Allen,
Non Executive Director
Dominic is a Chartered Accountant with over 10 years commercial experience, including senior roles with Rio Tinto Limited and Oyu Tolgoi LLC. Dominic previously worked for Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services, completing multiple resource and industrial transactions both in Australia and internationally.
Hugo Schumann, Non-Executive Director
• Hugo Schumann is a global mining and recycling executive with two decades of experience leading companies at the intersection of technology and critical minerals supply chains. He currently serves as CEO of EverMetal Capital, a private equity-backed platform building a global network of metals recycling assets, and as CEO – USA for Elemental Group, overseeing a $500 million portfolio of e-waste and PGM recycling operations across the United States.

• He also serves on the boards of Global Uranium & Enrichment (ASX: GUE) and IonDrive (ASX: ION), both advancing technologies in critical mineral recovery and uranium enrichment, and advises several Stanford-linked ventures developing biochemical and AI-based mineral extraction methods.

• Previously, Hugo was CEO– Silver at Hindustan Zinc Limited and CFO at Jetti Resources, where he helped grow the company’s valuation more than tenfold. He began his career at Apollo Group, financing and developing resources projects worldwide. A recipient of the S&P Global Metals “Rising Star” Award, he holds an MBA from INSEAD, completed the Stanford Executive Program, and is a CFA Charterholder.

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Dominic Allen,
Non Executive Director
Dominic is a Chartered Accountant with over 10 years commercial experience, including senior roles with Rio Tinto Limited and Oyu Tolgoi LLC. Dominic previously worked for Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services, completing multiple resource and industrial transactions both in Australia and internationally.
Jennifer Grafton, General Counsel and COO
• Director of Farmland Partners Inc. (NYSE: FPI) and Dakota Gold Corporation (NYSE: DC)
• Former member of the Board of Directors of National Mining Association, serving as point of contact for U.S. Congress
• Former Chief Legal Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary of Westmoreland Coal Company (NASDAQ: WLB)
• Former EVP, General Counsel of e2open Parent Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ETWO), a supply chain software company
• BA, University of Puget Sound; JD, University of Denver, MBA, University of Michigan
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Alexandre de Rocha,
Chief Geologist
Alexandre has over 40 years experience as an exploration geologist in Brazil. During his career, he was involved in several major mine discoveries in Brazil, including Denham’s Serra Verde Ionic Clay deposit and Appian’s Santa Rita Nickel Sulphide mine. He holds a master’s degree in Geochemistry from Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Since 1988, Alexandre has been a Professor of Geology at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN) Alexandre has published relevant papers on Rare Earths Elements Adsorbed in Ionic Clays in international journals.
Cheryl Kerr, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer
Ms. Kerr has served as our Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer since February 1, 2026. Prior to being appointed our Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer, Ms. Kerr served as a consultant to the Company from December 2025 to February 2026. Prior to this, Ms. Kerr served as Senior Director of Accounting at Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: LUMN), a global networking company from August 2021 to October 2025, where she held various roles including the Senior Director of SEC Reporting and Senior Director of Finance Separation Management and International Accounting. Before Lumen Technologies, between 2019 and 2021, Mr. Kerr worked as an accounting consultant for various companies, including Lumen Technologies. Ms. Kerr holds both a Bachelor and Master of Business Administration from the University of Oklahoma Price College of Business and is a Certified Public Accountant
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Alexandre de Rocha,
Chief Geologist
Alexandre has over 40 years experience as an exploration geologist in Brazil. During his career, he was involved in several major mine discoveries in Brazil, including Denham’s Serra Verde Ionic Clay deposit and Appian’s Santa Rita Nickel Sulphide mine. He holds a master’s degree in Geochemistry from Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Since 1988, Alexandre has been a Professor of Geology at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN) Alexandre has published relevant papers on Rare Earths Elements Adsorbed in Ionic Clays in international journals.
Kevin G. McCarty, Vice President of Exploration
• 20+ years of exploration and operations leadership in mining, spanning surface and underground operations, aggregates, industrial minerals, strategic minerals, and greenfield development
• Former Director of Mining at Georgia-Pacific Gypsum
• Former Director of Operations at Black Mountain Management
• Former Geologist and Area Ops leader at Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC)
• Professional Geologist, SME Professional Member
• BS Geology, Tennessee Technological University; ME, Mining Engineering, Missouri University of Science & Technology
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Dominic Allen,
Non Executive Director
Dominic is a Chartered Accountant with over 10 years commercial experience, including senior roles with Rio Tinto Limited and Oyu Tolgoi LLC. Dominic previously worked for Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services, completing multiple resource and industrial transactions both in Australia and internationally.
Tommy von Finckenstein, Director, Business Development
• Former Director of Strategy & Corporate Development for Wyoming Rare (USA) Inc.
a fully owned subsidiary of American Rare Earths Limited
• Former Metals & Mining Equity Analyst at Morgan Stanley
• Former Metals & Mining Investment Banker at RBC Capital Markets
• B.Eng. Mining Engineering, McGill University
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Dominic Allen,
Non Executive Director
Dominic is a Chartered Accountant with over 10 years commercial experience, including senior roles with Rio Tinto Limited and Oyu Tolgoi LLC. Dominic previously worked for Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services, completing multiple resource and industrial transactions both in Australia and internationally.
Francisco Tomazoni Neto, Brazil Country Manager
• Mining executive with nearly 20 years of experience in exploration and resource development across critical minerals, including nickel, copper, cobalt, zinc, and gold. Combines technical expertise in geochemistry and mineral systems with operational leadership across greenfield discovery, brownfield expansion, and active mining environments.
• Previously held senior technical and management roles at Ero Copper, MMG Limited, Nexa Resources, and Anglo American. Led exploration strategy, target generation, 3D geological modeling, and advancement of assets through pre-feasibility and feasibility stages, including track record of discoveries in Brazil.
• Holds a B.S. in Geology and a Master of Science in Geochemistry from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and has ongoing graduate studies in Business Management and Finance.
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Dominic Allen,
Non Executive Director
Dominic is a Chartered Accountant with over 10 years commercial experience, including senior roles with Rio Tinto Limited and Oyu Tolgoi LLC. Dominic previously worked for Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services, completing multiple resource and industrial transactions both in Australia and internationally.
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