The directors, officials, and management of DigiMetals Exchange Precious Metals Corp. (DME) and Precious Metals International Ltd. Make up DigiMetals global leadership team. Examine their experiences and backgrounds.
Board of Directors
Thomas Brack
Chair of the Board and Director
Mr. Brack serves as Chair of the DME Board. He previously retired as Lead Independent Director of Capstone Mining Corp. in May 2023, having held the role of non-Executive Chair from 2011 to 2022. Over the past two decades, he has held directorships with numerous mining companies, including Alio Gold Inc., ValOro Resources Inc. (now Defiance Silver Corp., formerly Geologix Explorations Inc.), Aurizon Mines Ltd., Newstrike Capital Inc., NovaGold Resources Inc., and Red Back Mining Inc., and he formerly served as Chair of Alexco Resources Corp. Mr. Brack has extensive committee experience, including audit, compensation and human resources, corporate governance, and special committees formed in response to takeover transactions involving Aurizon, Red Back, and NovaGold. With a 35-year career in the mining sector, his background spans exploration, corporate development, and investment banking, with deep expertise in strategic mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets. Until 2009, he served as Managing Director and Industry Head of Mining at Scotia Capital, joining the firm in 2006 following earlier senior roles in the industry.
Charlene Donovan
Director
Ms. Donovan brings over 25 years of experience in the mining industry, with expertise across operations, technical services, capital allocation, and corporate development. She served as Head of Growth and Evaluations for Barrick Gold Corporation in North America until March 2019. Previously, she held senior roles at Barrick Gold Corporation as Vice President of Evaluations and at Waterton Global Resource Management as Principal and Head of Evaluations, leading teams responsible for due diligence on investment and growth opportunities. Ms. Donovan also has extensive technical and operational experience at mines in Australia and Canada, having worked with Barrick Gold Corporation, Goldfields Limited, and Western Mining Corp. She joined the board of Dundee Precious Metals Inc. in November 2020 and the board of Dundee Corporation in May 2024, and she formerly served on the board of Perpetua Resources from January 2019 to December 2020. Ms. Donovan holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Mining Engineering (B.Eng. Honours) and Commerce (B.Com. Finance) from the University of Western Australia and has completed the ICD Director Education Program at the Rotman School of Management.
Lee-Ann Gosselin
Director
Ms. Gosselin is a seasoned corporate board member with over 30 years of combined experience in mining operations and capital markets. Her financial market expertise spans asset management and sell-side analysis. She has held roles as Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Goodman Investment Counsel and Senior Mining Analyst at Sun Valley Gold LLP, in addition to earlier analyst positions. Ms. Gosselin also brings extensive operational experience from mine-site management roles in Canada, Peru, and Nicaragua, providing hands-on knowledge of underground and open-pit mine development and production across diverse cultural and social environments. She holds an MBA from Concordia University and a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from Laval University and has completed the ICD Director Education Program. Ms. Gosselin currently serves on the boards of several TSX-listed companies in the natural resources sector.
Chloe Hull
Director
Ms. Hull brings over 35 years of operational leadership and engineering experience in the mining industry. She has held key roles including Chief Operating Officer for Rio Tinto plc at the Kennecott Utah Copper Mine and Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of Peabody Energy Corporation. Ms. Hull also held multiple engineering and operations management positions with Rio Tinto affiliates, and earlier in her career, she worked with Mobil Mining and Minerals, gaining additional experience in environmental engineering and regulatory affairs across both public and private sectors. Alongside her extensive operational expertise, she has 10 years of experience as an independent director. Ms. Hull currently serves on the boards of Hudbay Minerals Inc., Epiroc AB, and Coeur Mining, Inc., and has previously served on the boards of Interfor Corporation, Trevali Mining Company, Copper Mountain Mining Corporation, Pretium Resources Inc., and Cloud Peak Energy Inc.
Derrick Ives
Director
Mr. Ives joined the DigiMetals Exchange Board in May 2020. He retired as a Canadian partner of Deloitte LLP on March 31, 2020, having served as Executive Chair of Deloitte Canada from 2010 to 2018, a director of Deloitte Global from 2010 to 2018, and Chair of the Deloitte Global Risk Committee from 2012 to 2018. From 2007 to 2020, he led Deloitte’s North and South America Mining group and served as an audit partner for public mining companies from 1999 to 2010. Mr. Ives currently serves as a director of Kinross Gold Corporation and Chair of NervGen Pharma Corp. Earlier in his career, he was CFO and Director of Vengold Inc. (1993–1999), director of Lihir Gold Inc. (1997–1999), and Vice-President of Finance of TVX Gold Inc. (1988–1993). He has significant governance experience with non-profits, including Chair of the St. Paul’s Foundation (Vancouver) and director and Chair of the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation (2010–2019, Chair 2016–2018). Mr. Ives holds an honors Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, is a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia, a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, and was the Ontario Gold Medalist for the Uniform Final Exams in 1984. He is also a member of the ICD and the NACD.
Kenneth Jeannes
Director
Mr. Jeannes joined the DigiMetals Exchange Board in November 2016 and brings over 30 years of experience in the mining industry. He served as President and CEO of Goldcorp Inc. (now Newmont Corporation) from December 2008 to April 2016, guiding the company to become one of the world’s largest and most successful gold producers, with operations and development projects across the Americas. Prior to this, he was Executive Vice President, Corporate Development at Goldcorp, overseeing key M&A transactions that fueled the company’s growth. Earlier in his career, Mr. Jeannes held senior roles at Glamis Gold Ltd. and Placer Dome Inc. He formerly served on the board of Tahoe Resources Inc. until its acquisition by Pan American Silver Corp. in 2019 and currently serves as a director of Pan American Silver Corp. and Chair of Orb Mining Ltd. Mr. Jeannes holds a B.A. from the University of Nevada (1980) and a law degree with honors from the University of Arizona College of Law (1983). He practiced law for 11 years and has extensive experience in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, financing, and international operations.
Elizabeth Schonberner
Director
Ms. Schonberner is a corporate director with over 35 years of international experience in the energy and mining sectors. She retired in 2018 as Chief Financial Officer of Nexen Energy ULC, where, over a 21-year career, she held a variety of executive roles overseeing financial and risk management, audit, human resources, strategic planning and budgeting, supply chain, and information services. Ms. Schonberner currently serves on the board of New Gold Inc., where she chairs the Audit Committee and serves on the Governance and Nominating Committee. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta and an MBA from the University of Calgary, is a CPA, CMA, and Certified Internal Auditor, and completed the Senior Executive Development Programme at the London Business School. She also holds the ICD.D designation from the ICD and serves on the Calgary ICD Advisory Board.
Paul Smallwood
Director
Paul Smallwood was appointed Chief Executive Officer of DigiMetals Precious Metals on April 11, 2011, and has served on the Board of Directors since May 6, 2011. He previously held the role of President from January 1, 2010, to June 30, 2025. As a founding member of the company (formerly Silver DME), Mr. Smallwood has overseen its growth from a pure silver streaming company into a diversified international portfolio spanning gold, silver, palladium, platinum, and cobalt assets. Before becoming President in 2010 and CEO in 2011, he served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development. Earlier in his career, he played a key role in building DME River/Goldcorp (now part of Newmont) into one of the world’s largest and most profitable gold mining companies.