Executive Team
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Roger Williams
Non-Executive Chairman
Roger is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years’ international experience in mining finance, and with an honours degree in French and Spanish. After 10 years at Randgold Resources including 5 years as Group Finance Director, Roger went on to become Chief Financial Officer of JSE-listed AECI Limited. He has served on a number of boards in the mining and mining services sectors and is currently Chief Financial Officer of a privately-owned mining company. After various interim roles at Digby Wells Environmental, including acting CFO and commercial executive, he was appointed Non-Executive Chairman in August 2023. He is part of the Finance and Risk Committee as well as REMCO at Digby Wells.
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Msokoli Frans Baleni
Non-Executive Director
Frans is the Non-Executive Director of Digby Wells Environmental. Frans has spent more than four decades in a variety of corporate functions that has prepared him for major roles in significant transformative events – most notably in South Africa, but also abroad. With vast experience as a member of various boards – including international organisations, Frans offers seasoned commercial, risk, governance and compliance industry insights from across the mining, development finance, education & training, and energy sectors.
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Stuart Brown
Non-Executive Director
Stuart Brown is a seasoned industry Executive with over four decades of experience across the resources industry. Stuart has held various executive positions in renowned organizations, including Firestone Diamonds Plc and De Beers Group. With extensive Board-Level expertise in both CEO and CFO roles, and a track record of leading business transformation and developing lean, agile and high performing organisations, Stuart will significantly contribute to Digby Wells’ growth and future success.
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Richard McDonald
Chief Financial Officer
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Richard has completed his MBA through GIBS and is a registered Chartered Accountant with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. He has more than 15 years experience in various industries including commodity trading, mining, bulk materials handling, processing, power generation, fixed plant, agriculture, engineering and construction.
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Lucy Stevens
Executive Director
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Lucy Stevens, Director of Digby Wells Environmental has BA and LLB degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Masters Degree in Environmental Management from the Rand Afrikaans University, South Africa. Lucy is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa and specialises in environmental law. She has ten years of experience in this field which includes undertaking environmental legal compliance audits, due diligences, legal reviews, overseeing environmental impact assessment studies and providing legal advice in both the mining and non-mining sectors throughout Africa.
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Graham Trusler
CEO (Founding Partner)
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Graham Trusler is one of the founding partners of the company and is the CEO of Digby Wells Environmental. He holds a MSc (Engineering) and a BCom. Degree. He is a registered professional engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa. He is also registered as a Chartered Chemical Engineer with the Institution of Chemical Engineers, is a member of the Water Institute of South Africa and a lifetime member of the American Society of Mining and Reclamation. Graham has 30 years of experience within the mining industry in metallurgical production, research and environmental issues.
Management Team
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Sarah Cooper
Group Sustainability Manager
Sarah leads Digby Wells’ Sustainability Division and is Director of Digby Wells Jersey. She has 15 years experience in ESG and Sustainability. Sarah specialises in developing and implementing pragmatic ESG strategies that meet client’s current needs and future ambitions. Sarah is seconded to Barrick Gold as Group Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Manager, helping drive ESG strategy and disclosures. Prior to joining Digby Wells Sarah was Corporate reporting Manager for a leading ESG and Responsible Investment Public Relations and Communications agency. Sarah also spent time as ESG Analyst at CDC Group, the UK government’s Development Finance Institute, where she helped to develop the organisation’s ESG Toolkit for Fund Managers, and it's first Development Impact Report. Since July 2020 Sarah has served on the World Gold Council’s ESG taskforce, she is also on the International Mining and Metals Council’s Working groups for Responsible sourcing, and Human Rights.
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Leon Ellis
Divisional Manager: Closure and Rehabilitation Services
Leon is the Mine Closure and Rehabilitation Divisional Manager at Digby Wells. Leon completed his BSc. (Hons) in Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in 2009. He joined Digby Wells in January 2013. He has nine years’ experience in the environmental services sector with specialised focus on Environmental Liability Assessments, Mine Closure Plans, Performance Assessments and Risk Assessments, locally and internationally. He has also been involved in the undertaking of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Environmental Management Programmes (EMPs). Leon also completed the Environmental Risk Assessment and Management course based on ISO 31000 at the Centre of Environmental Management (North West University) in 2016.
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Lerato Ratsoenyane
Manager Stakeholder Engagement
Lerato has 13 years’ experience; with 6 years of work experience in the Coal Mining Sector as a Social and Labour Plan Practitioner involved in the consultation, compilation and execution of the Social and Labour Plans, Mining Charter and Mining Qualification Authority Reporting and performing various tasks in terms of planning and developing Policies and Strategies within the Human Resources, Governance and Environmental Divisions. The remaining 7 years has been within the Environmental Consultancy sector; involved in the planning, development and implementation of public participation processes (PPP) as part of Environmental Authorisation processes in compliance with South African legislation and Stakeholder Engagement processes as part of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) projects in compliance with Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards international guidelines and country-specific legislation specifically for projects in Botswana and Liberia. Lerato is professionally affiliated with the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) as a Committee Member for the emerging regions portfolio and Company Director and Member of IAP2 Southern Africa region.
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Samba Sangare
Country Manager: Mali
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With over 23 years of experience, Samba Sangare has worked in Mali for the Sadiola and Yatela Mines, Democratic Republic of Congo for the Kantaga Copper and Cobalt and Ashanti Goldfield Kilo SARL, as wells as in Guinee with the Société Anglo Gold Ashanti. Samba is the Country Manager for the Digby Wells Environmental Mali Office. He is an experienced Environmental Manager with strong leadership and stakeholder collaboration capabilities throughout the resources sector.
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Kirsten Strauss
Executive: HR & Organisational Effectiveness
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Kirsten joined Digby Wells in November 2011 as a HR specialist. She has over 20 years HR generalist experience. She has experience in organisational development, job profiling, performance management, remuneration and reward, organisation structuring and design, and recruitment. Kirsten is also involved in the International travel procedures and Health and Safety for the organisation.
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André van Coller
Executive: UK, West Africa & Business Growth
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André van Coller holds an MSc in Geohydrology from the Institute of Groundwater Studies, University of the Free State with specialisation in geochemistry. He has over 10 years’ experience in the mining and environmental industry working as a geologist, hydrogeologist and environmental geochemist. André has experience in the mining industry with water supply, dewatering, geochemistry, water and salt balance and EIA projects and played a role in both the project management, management of field programs, data processing and reporting. His current focus is on mine water management that includes surface water, groundwater and geochemistry assessments and management plans considering site wide impacts and mitigations. André is also the Divisional Manager for Water Services at Digby Wells and leads an international team of hydrologists, geohydrologists and geochemists. His international experience includes projects in USA, Canada, Peru, Dominican Republic, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast, Senegal, DRC, Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho and South Africa.
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Barbara Wessels
Executive: Technical Services
Barbara Wessels completed her B. Sc. in Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Johannesburg and has over 14 years’ experience. She is responsible for Group Technical Services which includes social and heritage, environmental management and compliance, GIS, ecology, air quality and noise, aquatic and wetland services, surface and groundwater as well as rehabilitation and closure. She has global experience in various environmental disciplines with a focus on integrated project management and compilation, review and auditing of Environmental and Social Impact Assessments.
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Mashudu Rafundisani
Country Manager: South Africa
Mashudu serves as the Country Manager for Digby Wells South Africa. He earned an Honours Degree in Environmental Management from the University of Venda (South Africa) and is recognized as a Water Resource Scientist by the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP). With over 12 years of experience in the Mining and Environmental sector, Mashudu has expertise in environmental assessments, specialized hydrological work, hydrological modeling, mine water management, water quality, water and salt balances, water conservation, demand and supply assessments, environmental/water resource audits, and EIA projects.His extensive project portfolio extends across diverse countries and regions, including South Africa, Mali, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Burkina Faso, DRC, Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana, and other parts of Africa. Prior to his role at Digby Wells, Mashudu spent 2 years contributing to the City of Johannesburg's water and biodiversity unit, overseeing Catchment Management and Water Quality. As a director of Digby Wells South Africa, he actively contributes to the organization's business strategy, business development, and overall growth.
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Kgomotsego Motlopi
Country Manager: Botswana
Ms. Motlopi holds a BA, Environmental Science and Demography from the University of Botswana as well as a Masters in Natural Resources Management and Sustainable Agriculture from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. She is a certified Principal Environmental Assessment practitioner registered with Botswana Environmental Assessment Practitioners Association (BEAPA). Ms Motlopi is also an Internal Lead auditor; ISO 14001:2015.Her over 15 years work experience covers Environmental Impact Assessment for Infrastructure projects, extractive and petroleum industries as well as Strategic Environmental Assessments and construction monitoring. It includes work within the climate change adaptation sphere focused on Vulnerability and Capacity Assessments for livelihoods’, Capacity building, Stakeholder Engagement and Resource Mobilisation. Ms Motlopi brokers knowledge within and across these sectors to aid responsible investment and influence national and regional policy. She has represented Botswana at UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP) as a party delegate focusing on the Gender Agenda and Climate Action. Ms Motlopi’s experience extends beyond the borders of Botswana as she has been part of both regional and international projects in Namibia, South Africa and Europe. Prior to her role at Digby Wells, Motlopi spent 10 years as a Researcher within the climate change division at BITRI. As a Country Manager at Digby Wells Botswana, she leads the country’s business strategy and business development ambitions.
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Jaco van der Walt
Divisional Manager : Heritage Management Services
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Jaco is the Heritage Management Services Divisional Manager at Digby Wells. Jaco obtained his MA degree in Archaeology from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2012 and is an accredited member of the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists and acted as council member for SADC countries in the Cultural Resource Management (CRM) portfolio from 2011 – 2012 and for 2023 – 2024. He is also an accredited member of the Association of Professional Heritage Practitioners. Jaco has been actively involved as a professional archaeologist within the heritage management field in Southern Africa for the past 25 years. He has experience conducting heritage assessments, grave relocation projects and heritage mitigation projects. Jaco has worked on various international projects in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Zambia, Guinea, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Tanzania. Through this, he has a sound understanding of the International Finance Corporations (IFC) Performance Standard requirements, with specific reference to Performance Standard 8 – Cultural Heritage.
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Anita Gutu
Manager: Environmental Management Services
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Anita is the Environmental Management Services Manager and is the Operational Lead Manager for Tanzania. Anita completed her MSc in Environmental Sciences at the University of Witwatersrand and joined Digby Wells in 2015. She has extensive experience in Environmental Project Management and primarily works as a Project Manager for large-scale integrated projects including Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and Management Plans (ESIA/ESMPs) and Resettlement Planning Processes to host country and good international industry practices (incl. International Finance Corporation Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability and the Equator Principles 4) across diverse countries and regions, including South Africa, Zambia, Mali, Tanzania, DRC, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Guinea. She has conducted a variety of ESIAs/ ESMPs for the resource industry as well as environmental and social Multi-Criteria Alternative Assessments, environmental and social field work as well as environmental compliance audits and due diligences.
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Jessica van Eck
Divisional Manager : Social Sciences
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Jessica is Divisional Manager for social and stakeholder engagement services at Digby Wells. She leads an international team of resettlement, social and stakeholder engagement specialists. Jessica has over 10 years’ experience in the mining and environmental industry starting out as an environmental consultant and developing into a social and community development specialist. She has been involved as a project manager on large scale ESIAs for gold, copper, rutile and rare earth developments and was seconded to the Kibali Gold Mine in the DRC to join the mine’s Social Department. Jessica has a BSc in Environmental Sciences from the University of East Anglia (UK) and a MSc in Environmental Management from London Birkbeck University. Jessica speaks Spanish fluently having spent 10 years in Venezuela and Mexico and has working proficiency in French having worked in Francophone Africa. Her country experience covers USA (New Mexico), Peru, Dominican Republic, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Tanzania, DRC, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
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Matthew Damhuis
Divisional Manager: Water Services
Matthew is Divisional Manager for water services at Digby Wells. He leads a diverse team of specialists in the fields of hydrogeology, hydrology and geochemistry to provide water management solutions to our clients.He has 14 years’ experience in the mining industry as a consultant, operational dewatering and water management specialist and as a corporate water lead. He has been involved in hydrogeological and water management studies across the African mining landscape, as well as providing strategic water management solutions to operations in Africa, South America, Australia and North America. He has also played a key role in developing corporate water management strategies, standards and procedures for Kumba Iron Ore in South Africa, as well as global technical standards for Anglo American.