investments exceeding $10 billion across the Americas. Earlier in his career, Mr. Barreto held investment banking roles at Citigroup in New York and London. Mr. Barreto holds a master’s degree in business administration from Columbia Business School and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida International University.
Fabián Galindo, our Country Manager, has more than 17 years of experience in the mining and natural resources sector, with a background spanning operations, strategic planning, finance and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Galindo held senior leadership roles at Grupo México, including overseeing its U.S. copper mining, smelting and refining operations in Arizona and Texas from 2018 to 2023. Earlier in his career at Grupo México, Mr. Galindo served in progressively senior roles within the strategic planning and mergers and acquisitions functions for Americas Mining (the mining division of Grupo México). Since joining the Company in 2023, Mr. Galindo has led our Mexican operations, supported strategic planning and financing initiatives and worked closely with our Board of Directors in preparing for this offering.
Maria José Romero leads our technical services team. Ms. Romero is a mining engineer with more than 20 years of experience across exploration, project evaluation, mine development and underground operations. Since joining the Company, she has led the technical services function for the Project, including oversight of exploration data management, QA/QC programs, drill planning, cost control and budgeting and the preparation of technical disclosures supporting regulatory filings and independent technical reviews. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Romero held senior technical and engineering roles at Coeur Mining Inc., Silver Bull Resources Inc., Industrias Peñoles and Gammonlake. Her experience includes supporting exploration and infill drilling programs, geological modeling, economic assessments, underground mine development and permitting, and acting as the primary technical liaison with independent engineering consultants. Ms. Romero holds a bachelor of mining engineering from the University of Sonora and has completed a Citation Program in Applied Geostatistics at the University of Alberta.
Jaime Cortés Álvarez, our General Counsel and Secretary, has more than 30 years of experience as a transactional lawyer in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, structured finance, securitization, capital markets, restructuring and corporate governance. He has served as counsel in numerous Mexican and international equity offerings, including initial public offerings of Mexican issuers. Previously, he was a partner at leading Mexican law firms.
Scott Cole, our Vice President of Finance, has more than 30 years of experience in finance, accounting, treasury and operational finance leadership, primarily within the mining and metals industry. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Cole served as finance manager for the U.S. operations of Jervois Global, where he led finance, treasury, accounting and supply chain functions during the construction and start-up of an underground cobalt mine and supported government-funded drilling and refinery feasibility initiatives. From 2006 to 2022, Mr. Cole held progressively senior leadership roles at ASARCO, the U.S. subsidiary of Grupo México, including treasurer and team leader of finance and accounting and operations controller, and was a member of the executive leadership team overseeing treasury, accounting, insurance, budgeting, forecasting and capital transactions across multiple large-scale mining, smelting and refining operations. Earlier in his career, Mr. Cole held senior finance roles at Environmental Systems Products, Eagle Family Foods, BHP Copper and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with experience spanning financial planning and analysis, controllership, internal audit, SEC-related reporting for public debt issuances and operational management. Mr. Cole holds a master of business administration in accounting from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor of business administration in finance from The University of Texas at Arlington, and is a certified public accountant.
Carla Llantada leads our institutional relations. Ms. Llantada has over 30 years of experience leading governance, institutional relations, stakeholder engagement and legal strategy across the public and private sectors. Ms. Llantada’s experience spans trade and industrial policy, renewable energy development, institutional justice reform and government affairs.
Estefania Nevarez, our sustainability director, has over 30 years of experience as an environmental lawyer across leading Mexican law firms, with responsibilities ranging from permitting, project development and litigation, as well as environmental management programs.
Lourdes McPherson, our community relations director, has over 10 years of experience in corporate affairs and as manager of environmental, social and governance responsibilities across the government of Sonora, and the development of the Cerro del Gallo project previously owned by Argonaut Gold Inc. (now Heliostar Metals Ltd.).
We have also established an advisory board of experts with widely-recognized major contributions who are able to add significant value through their expertise and network in Mexico. We believe that the specialized skills and knowledge of our management team, our Board of Directors and our advisory board enhance our ability to create value.