Ivanhoe Mines Adds Accomplished African Female Leaders to its Board
Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; OTCQX: IVPAF) announced the results of voting by shareholders for the election of the Board of Directors during the company’s Annual General and Special Meeting held last week.
Ivanhoe Mines Co-Chairman Robert Friedland and President Marna Cloete also are very pleased to announce the appointment of two distinguished female African leaders – Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Ms. Delphine Traoré – to the company’s board as independent directors. Mr. Guy de Selliers and Ms. Nunu Ntshingila did not stand for re-election.
Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka served as the United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women from August 2013 to August 2021.
During her tenure, she advocated for women and girls worldwide, creating initiatives such as HeForShe for men and boys to promote gender equality. In January 2022, she was appointed as the Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg.
Ms. Traoré is the Regional Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Africa, overseeing development across the continent. She joined the Board of Management of Allianz Africa as Regional Chief Operations Officer in February 2017 and served as CEO of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) Africa from September 2012 to February 2017.
Mr. Friedland commented: “First, we would like to sincerely thank Guy and Nunu for their efforts and contributions during their time on the board, and wish them the best in their future endeavours.
We are proud to welcome Phumzile and Delphine as we transition into a leading, diversified resource company committed to modern and responsible mining.
Our growing team of talented South African and Congolese women, at all levels of our organization, is a critical asset to the company as we strive towards our goals of excellence in operations, care for the environment, empowering our local communities, health and safety of our employees, and corporate governance. With steadfast commitment to these goals, we will build three of the world’s best mines in Southern Africa.
“As accomplished leaders, Phumzile and Delphine bring a unique perspective to Ivanhoe, with their deep African experience and insights. Their addition to the board will add incredible value as we continue our strategic efforts to empower a new generation of highly-skilled women and men across Africa … and as we emerge as the world’s next major mining company.”
Ms. Cloete commented: “We’re all excited to welcome Phumzile and Delphine to the board. We must continue to evolve and emphasize inclusivity and sustainability, as different perspectives and ways of thinking lead to improvement and innovation.
To achieve gender equality in the workforce, we need more women in decision-making roles at all levels, from mines to boardrooms.
That requires training and mentorship programs, and encouragement to get involved. Ivanhoe Mines is proud to be a trailblazer when it comes to diversity and inclusion, as we all chart a new way forward for modern mining.”
Mr. Friedland and Ms. Cloete noted that the two appointments were in keeping with the company’s objective to have its board comprised of a majority of independent directors and to increase its female representation at the board level.
About Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka served as the United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women from August 2013 to August 2021.
During her tenure, she advocated for women and girls worldwide, creating initiatives such as HeForShe for men and boys to promote gender equality. In January 2022, she was appointed as the Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg.
From June 2005 to September 2008, Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka served as Deputy President of South Africa, overseeing programs and policies to reduce inequality, with a particular focus on women.
Before this, she served as Minister of Minerals and Energy from June 1999 to June 2005 and Deputy Minister in the Department of Trade and Industry from 1996 to 1999. She served as a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 1996 as part of South Africa’s first democratic government.
Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka began her career as a teacher and gained international experience as a coordinator at the World YWCA in Geneva, where she established a global program for young women.
She created the Umlambo Foundation, which supports leadership and education. As a long-time advocate of women’s rights, she is affiliated with several organizations devoted to education, women’s empowerment, and gender equality.
Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka completed her PhD in Technology and Education at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science and Education from the National University of Lesotho.
She also is a Hauser Leader at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership.
About Delphine Traoré
Delphine Traoré is the Regional Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Africa since November 2021, overseeing development across the continent.
She joined the Board of Management of Allianz Africa as Regional Chief Operations Officer in February 2017 and served as CEO of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) Africa from September 2012 to February 2017. Ms. Traoré is currently a non-executive member of the Board of Management of AGCS Africa.
She has been serving as a board member for Allianz for a Green Revolution in Africa since February 2022, African Reinsurance Corporation since November 2021, and African Risk Capacity since June 2018.
Ms. Traoré served as Vice-President of the African Insurance Organization from May 2018 to June 2019, before becoming its President from June 2019 to September 2021.
Ms. Traoré was awarded the Best CEO of the Year by the Africa CEO Forum in June 2023, acknowledging her dedication to improving corporate governance and for negotiating a successful merger agreement with South African group Sanlam in 2022.
She has been recognized as one of the top women economic leaders in Africa, having been featured in Forbes Africa magazine’s portraits of women economic leaders in 2019 and included in the Jeune Afrique magazine’s list of the 50 most influential women in Africa in 2018.
Ms. Traoré was also President of the Insurance Institute of South Africa from 2015 to 2017. She was awarded the Woman Leadership Award from the Africa Leadership Awards in 2015 and was named in the Choiseul 100 Africa annual independent study of top economic leaders of tomorrow by the Institut Choiseul in both 2014 and 2015.
Ms. Traoré is a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter from the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters.
She also holds a Master of Science in Insurance Management from Boston University and a Bachelor of Science in Business and Accounting from the University of Pittsburgh.
Voting results for election of directors
The 11 nominees listed in the management proxy circular dated May 3, 2023, were elected as directors, as shown in the following table of results.
| Director nominee | Outcome | Votes for | % for | Votes withheld | % withheld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert M. Friedland | Elected | 1,044,868,005 | 97.91 | 22,310,228 | 2.09 |
| Yufeng (Miles) Sun | Elected | 1,031,765,089 | 96.68 | 35,413,144 | 3.32 |
| Tadeu Carneiro | Elected | 961,686,723 | 90.11 | 105,491,510 | 9.89 |
| Jinghe Chen | Elected | 1,053,500,907 | 98.72 | 13,677,326 | 1.28 |
| William Hayden | Elected | 1,054,275,805 | 98.79 | 12,902,428 | 1.21 |
| Martie Janse van Rensburg | Elected | 1,059,161,401 | 99.25 | 8,016,832 | 0.75 |
| Manfu Ma | Elected | 1,053,439,387 | 98.71 | 13,738,846 | 1.29 |
| Peter G. Meredith | Elected | 1,011,886,337 | 94.82 | 55,291,896 | 5.18 |
| Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka | Elected | 1,066,749,890 | 99.96 | 428,343 | 0.04 |
| Kgalema P. Motlanthe | Elected | 1,036,798,013 | 97.15 | 30,380,220 | 2.85 |
| Delphine Traoré | Elected | 1,066,680,668 | 99.95 | 497,565 | 0.05 |
About Ivanhoe Mines
Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa; the expansion of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the construction of the tier-one Platreef palladium-rhodium-platinum-nickel-copper-gold project in South Africa; and the restart of the historic ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC.
Ivanhoe Mines also is exploring for new copper discoveries across its circa 2,400km2 of 90-100% owned exploration licences in the Western Foreland, located adjacent to, or in close proximity to, the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC.
