OUR STRATEGY

Joseph C. Sy

Joseph C. Sy is a dynamic and rare business leader who finds golden opportunities and develops them into profitable and sustainable ventures. Seasoned through time and experience, he now has over 30 years of business and professional experience. A career that started with the wood industry and progressed to the mining, steel and smelting industry.

Educational Background:

Doctorate Fellow, Academy of Multi-Skills, UK
Fellow, Academy of Multi-Skills, UK

Companies

Chairman, Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc.
Chairman, Platinum Group Metals Corporation
Chairman, Ipilan Nickel Corporation
Chairman, Guangdong Century Tsingshan Nickel Industry Company Limited

Career Highlights

Honorary Consul of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Davao, Philippines
Auxiliary Rear Admiral, Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary
Mining Director, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI)
Economic Adviser, Province of Surigao Del Norte, Republic of The Philippines
Honorary Chairman, Philippine Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce
Honorary Chairman, Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Zhifang Gu

Ms. Zhifang Gu is a citizen of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, a seasoned entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in business leadership. Adept to all aspects of business formation, operation and management with a deep education in international trade. Effective communicator and motivator who identifies and leverages assets in teams to reach organizational goals. A career that covers the paper industry to the mining and smelting industry.

Educational Background:

Doctorate Fellow, Academy of Multi-Skills, UK
Fellow, Academy of Multi-Skills, UK
Degree in International Trade, Suzhou University

Career Highlights :

Executive Director and Investor of Guandong Century Tsingshan Nickel Industry Company Limited
Director/investor of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (GFNI)
Director, Ferrochrome Resources Inc.,
General Manager and Director, Jiangsu Lianhua Paper Ltd.,

Joseph C. Sy

Mr. Joseph Sy is the chairman of Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc. (GFNI), a publicly listed mining and exploration company in the Philippines. He also serves as the chairman of GFNI’s subsidiaries, Platinum Group Metals Corporation (PGMC), which operates the Cagdianao Nickel Expansion Project (CNEP) mine in Claver, Surigao del Norte, and Ipilan Nickel Corporation (INC), which operates under the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) issued to Celestial Nickel Mining Exploration Corporation (CNMEC) in Brooke’s Point, Palawan. Through Mr. Sy’s strong and visionary leadership, PGMC became the largest exporter of nickel ore in the Philippines in terms of gross sales value.

Taking an active involvement in the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) as its mining director, Mr. Sy currently heads one of the most influential business associations in the Philippines because of the strength and diversity of the businesses it represents.

Similarly, Mr. Sy serves as the president of the Chamber of Philippines – China Economy & Trade Promotion, Inc., a non-profit organization that promotes Philippine-China business relations; an honorary chairman of the Philippine Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce; and sits as the vice-president of the International Chamber of Commerce Philippines.

He also leads the Guandong Century Tsingshan Nickel Industry Company Limited, a ferronickel smelter with up to 25,000 production capacity for contained nickel located in Yangjiang City, Guandong Province, PRC.

He was initially conferred with the title of Fellow and was eventually recognized as a Doctor Fellow of the Academy of Multi-Skills UK, a leading professional institution in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Sy also holds the titles Honorary Consul of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Davao, Philippines and Honorary Chairman of the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc. and the Philippine Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce. He also serves as economic adviser of the Province of Surigao Del Norte.

In recognition of his contributions to business and society, he was appointed Auxiliary Rear Admiral by the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary Executive Squadron.

Mr. Sy is also one of the founding members and now an adviser to the Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA), which was organized to promote and develop the nickel industry in the country and aims to represent the Philippine nickel industry in championing its cause to various stakeholders.

Eveart Grace Claro

Ms. Pomarin-Claro became the Assistant Corporate Secretary and Alternate Corporate Information Officer of the Company on September 10, 2014. Atty. Pomarin-Claro served as the Corporate Secretary of the Company from February 1, 2014 to August 29, 2014. She is the Assistant Corporate Secretary of PGMC and Surigao Integrated Resources Corporation and the Corporate Secretary of Ipilan Nickel Corporation, Nickel Laterite Resources, Inc. and Celestial Nickel Mining Exploration Corporation. She completed a Bachelor of Laws from the University of St. La Salle.

Noel B. Lazaro

He became a Director of the Company on Mar 14, 2018, and a Senior Vice President and General Counsel of PGMC. He joined PGMC and became Director on August 1, 2014. He became the Corporate Secretary, Compliance Officer and Corporation Information Officer on October 22, 2014. He is also a Director and the Corporate Secretary of Southeast Palawan Nickel Ventures, Inc. and Ipilan Nickel Corporation. He is an Attorney-at-Law in the Philippines. Prior to his current position, Mr. Lazaro served as a Partner for Siguion Reyna Montecillo & Ongsiako, an Associate at SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, a professorial lecturer for the Lyceum of the Philippines College of Law, the De la Salle University Graduate School of Business and Far Eastern University Institute of Law, Master of Business Administration-Juris Doctor Dual Degree Program. He is holding a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines College of Law.

Carlo A. Matilac

Mr. Matilac became the Senior Vice President of the technical mines of PGMC on August 1, 2014. He joined PGMC in 2012. Mr. Matilac’s primary duties include mineral evaluation, planning and design of the mine, mine development and production. Prior to his current position, Mr. Matilac served as a Technical Specialist for BHP Billiton and QNI, and a Mine Engineering Superintendent for Manila Mining Corp. He holds a Master in Business Administration from the Saint Paul University and a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from Cebu Institute of Technology. Mr. Matilac has more than 19 years of technical and engineering experience in managing companies engaged in mining and mineral exploration development.

Edgardo G. Lacson

He is the President of MIS Maritime Corporation, Safe Seas Shipping Agency, Marine Industrial Supply Corporation and EML Realty. He is also the Managing Director of Link Edge, Chairman of Metrostore Corporation and Chairman of Beacon Environmental Management Services. He also sits as a Trustee of Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) and a Director of Puregold Price Club, Inc. He is the President of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), a Member of the Board of Trustees of De La Salle University and an Honorary Chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). He graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Commerce (BSC), Major in Accounting from De La Salle College in 1965.

Dennis Allan T. Ang

He became a Director of the Company on August 10, 2015. He is the Founder and President of Engagement, Inc., Founder of Full Metro Gear Corp and the Corporate Secretary of Maxima Machineries Inc. He occupied several key positions in Asian Institute of Management from 2001 to 2006. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from Ateneo de Manila University in 1997 and a Master in Business Administration from Asian Institute of Management in 2001.

Francis C. Chua

He became a Director of the Company on October 22, 2014. He is the Chairman of the Board of Negros Navigation/2Go and a Board of Director/Governor of the Philippine Stock Exchange. He is also the Founding Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce Philippines (ICCP), Chairman Emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (PCCI), Chairman Emeritus of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), Honorary President of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FCCCII) and he is the Honorary Consulate General of the Republic of Peru in Manila. He also served as Special Envoy on Trade and Investments on China. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of the Philippines in 1972 and received doctorate degrees in Humanities and Business Technology from the Central Luzon State University and the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology, respectively.

Noel B. Lazaro

He became a Director of the Company on Mar 14, 2018, and a Senior Vice President and General Counsel of PGMC. He joined PGMC and became Director on August 1, 2014. He became the Corporate Secretary, Compliance Officer and Corporation Information Officer on October 22, 2014. He is also a Director and the Corporate Secretary of Southeast Palawan Nickel Ventures, Inc. and Ipilan Nickel Corporation. He is an Attorney-at-Law in the Philippines. Prior to his current position, Mr. Lazaro served as a Partner for Siguion Reyna Montecillo & Ongsiako, an Associate at SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, a professorial lecturer for the Lyceum of the Philippines College of Law, the De la Salle University Graduate School of Business and Far Eastern University Institute of Law, Master of Business Administration-Juris Doctor Dual Degree Program. He is holding a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines College of Law.

Mary Belle D. Bituin

She became a Director of the Company on October 22, 2014, and Treasurer and CFO in January 2015. She was Vice President for Business Transformation at Globe Telecom, Inc. where she has worked since 1998; an International Auditor for International Audits at the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) in Atlanta, USA; and a Senior Auditor at SGV & Co. She is a Certified Public Accountant. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, major in Accounting, from Philippine School of Business Administration, Manila in 1988.

Dante R. Bravo

He became President of the Company and PGMC on August 6, 2015 and August 10, 2015, respectively. He held various key positions in PGMC, namely: Corporate Secretary, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President from 2011 to 2014. He has more than 10 years of corporate management experience. Mr. Bravo served as Senior Associate and Director at SGV & Co.; Professor of Law at San Beda College; Lecturer for the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Program of the Supreme Court; and Chief Political Affairs Officer of Congressman Narciso R. Bravo Jr. He is a Certified Public Accountant. He completed a Bachelor of Laws from San Beda College and a Bachelor of Accountancy from University of Santo Tomas. He placed 10th in the 2001 Philippine Bar Examinations.

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