John Smith, MBA
President and CEO, Director
Mr. Smith has over 30 years of varied experience in the resources industry. He started his career in the North Sea oil industry and has spent the last 18 years with BHP Billiton, most recently as Vice President, Resourcing and Development, based in Melbourne, Australia. He has worked in various operational, strategic, M&A, and commercial roles within BHP Billiton, including over three years as CEO of the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, which operates one of the world's largest coal operations in the Bowen Basin of Queensland, consisting of nine mines, a port, and 4,000 employees. Under his leadership, four of the mines completed significant expansion projects, one new mine was brought into operation, and a tenth mine was developed to within a year of production. He has a BA, Commerce degree from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland, and an MBA with Distinction from Aberdeen University.
Joe Phillips, P.E.
Senior Vice President, Operations & Development
Mr. Phillips is an international mining executive with over 38 years of experience in development and operation of mining projects. He has lived and worked in 12 countries on four continents and has worked in the large scale development and production of gold, silver, phosphate, coal and aggregates. Most recently, as the Senior Vice President of Project Development for Pan American Silver, Mr. Phillips directed the construction, startup and operation of three mines and expansion of a fourth which currently produce 75% of Pan American's silver and 100% of their gold. Mr. Phillips graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in Geological Engineering in 1973 and did graduate studies in Business Administration at the University of South Florida. He is a registered Professional Engineer and a former director of the Chamber of Mines of both Mexico and Chile.
W. John DeCooman Jr., MSc
Vice President, Business Development
Mr. DeCooman's experience prior to joining Silver Standard in 2009 includes over 15 years of mining project finance and advisory responsibilities at Deutsche Banc, Alex Brown and Standard Bank, as well as corporate positions in finance, business development and exploration. Mr. DeCooman holds a Bachelor of Science degree from The Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Science degree from the Colorado School of Mines.
Ron Burk, M.Sc.Eng.
Vice President, Exploration
Mr. Burk has over 20 years of experience as a professional geologist, and has designed and supervised exploration programs in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Brazil. Prior to joining Silver Standard as Chief Geoscientist in 2004, he spent 15 years working for Teck Resources as a geologist in various international projects. Mr. Burk holds a Bachelor of Geological Engineering from the University of Toronto and a Master of Science in Engineering from Queen's University.
Tony Horton
Vice President, Safety and Risk Management
Mr. Horton has over 20 years of safety management experience in mining operations, including the development and deployment of best practice safety management systems, risk management, training and audit reviews. He has been responsible for operations safety at numerous international mining projects and in the development of comprehensive organizational risk management strategies. Prior to joining Silver Standard, Mr. Horton was Senior Vice President, Corporate Health and Safety for SNC-Lavalin, and previously Group Manager - Safety at Placer Dome Inc.
Kristen G. Riddell, LLB
Vice President, Corporate Secretary and General Counsel
Prior to joining Silver Standard, Ms. Riddell held the positions of Corporate Secretary with Skye Resources Inc. and Legal Counsel and Corporate Secretary with Pan American Silver Corp. She has served as legal counsel for other public companies, including Placer Dome Inc., and most recently Westport Innovations Inc. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Manitoba, and is a member of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals.
David L. Smith
Vice President, Human Resources
Mr. Smith has served as our Vice President, Human Resources since December 2009. Prior to joining Silver Standard, Mr. Smith held the position of Director of Human Resources – Russia for Kinross Gold Corporation. Mr. Smith has also held management positions with Barrick Gold Corporation and Motorola Inc. Mr. Smith holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brock University.
