TSX- and ASX-listed Almonty Industries, a global producer of tungsten, has appointed Guillaume Wiesenbach de Lamaziere as chief development officer to spearhead a key corporate development strategy and execution thereof.

De Lamaziere is a seasoned financial and capital markets executive with over 30 years of experience leading complex and large-scale, cross-border projects in banking and asset management.

As CEO and COO/CFO of AIG Asset Management Europe, London, he successfully led the worldwide project of consolidating the management of assets of the largest AIG insurance companies located in over 40 countries with over $37-billion AUM and upgraded control and risk functions, Almonty points out.

As CEO and COO/CFO of Banque AIG, Paris, he led the orderly delicensing of Banque AIG in less than four years, reducing the portfolio of “toxic” assets, mainly derivatives and structured products, from $300-billion to $1-billion at no loss to AIG, and returning over $2-billion of capital to the parent company, it adds.

Previously, he held financial management roles at Natixis Capital Markets, Goldman Sachs and Arthur Andersen.

De Lamaziere holds an MBA from Texas A&M University and a finance degree from Burgundy School of Business, France, Graduate School of Management and is a chartered financial analyst.

“With active mining operations now beginning at our Sangdong tungsten mine, we are privileged to welcome Guillaume and his wealth of experience with some of the largest global financial companies,” says Almonty CEO and chairperson Lewis Black.

“His combined experience as a senior financial executive across CEO, CFO and COO roles positions him to provide strong governance, disciplined capital allocation, and strategic corporate development guidance.

“As we continue to advance our Sangdong and Panasqueira mines, and accelerate development of the South Korean Sangdong molybdenum project and the US-based Gentung Browns Lake project, his financial experience will serve as a critical asset in leveraging our balance sheet to drive near-term value creation,” he adds.

“I am eager to join Almonty at a meaningful inflection point in the company’s development, with the commencement of mining operations at its Sandong mine in Korea.

“As Almonty completes the transition from development to production at what will soon become the Western world’s largest tungsten mine, I look forward to working closely with Lewis and the management team to support disciplined decision-making, and long-term value creation for shareholders,” De Lamaziere comments.