Top 10: Global Mining CTOs

Mining's biggest companies are spending heavily on technology, and the executives responsible for where that investment is spent are becoming some of the most important people in the industry. 

Autonomous haulage, predictive maintenance, digital twins and decarbonisation programmes are all reshaping how major operations are planned and run. At most of the world's largest mining operators, there is now a single senior figure whose job it is to pull all of that together.

Their remit typically spans process innovation, exploration technology, safety systems and the long-term push toward net zero. The title varies by company, but the function is broadly the same. 

Here, we run down ten CTOs and senior technical leaders at the world's biggest mining operators.

10. Megan Tibbals

Role: Chief Technical Officer
Company: North American Barrick
Headquarters: Nevada, US
Took on role: 2026

Barrick Mining announced the leadership team for its planned North American IPO in April 2026, and Megan Tibbals was among those named, taking the Chief Technical Officer position. 

She had previously been General Manager at Nevada Gold Mines, the Barrick and Newmont joint venture in Nevada, which gives her direct experience of the assets she will now be responsible for technically.

North American Barrick's portfolio covers Carlin, Cortez and Turquoise Ridge in Nevada as well as Pueblo Viejo in the Dominican Republic. Together, those assets produced around two million attributable gold ounces in 2025. 

The new company is targeting a primary NYSE listing before the end of 2026, and Megan will be one of the executives making the operational case to prospective investors.

9. Bertrand Odinet

Role: SVP and Chief Innovation Officer
Company: Freeport-McMoRan
Headquarters: Phoenix, US
Took on role: 2020

Freeport-McMoRan is the world's largest publicly listed copper producer, and the technology programme Bertrand Odinet oversees as Chief Innovation Officer is one of the more ambitious in the mining industry. 

Its flagship leaching initiative is targeting 300 million pounds of copper production in 2026 from material that was previously considered uneconomic to process, using new chemical additives and heat application to recover metal from low-grade stockpiles. 

The longer-term target is 800 million pounds per year by 2030, which would represent a significant addition to the company's output.

Beyond leaching, Bertrand’s brief covers broader technology deployment across the Americas portfolio. Freeport completed the conversion of its Bagdad copper mine in Arizona to autonomous haulage and is advancing further automation initiatives across other US operations. 

The company generated US$25.92bn in revenue in 2025.

8. William Dunford

Role: EVP and Chief Technical Officer
Company: Kinross Gold
Headquarters: Toronto, Canada
Took on role: 2023

William Dunford joined the Kinross Gold senior leadership team in September 2023, taking on responsibility for technical services as well as the company's strategic business planning and performance management. 

Kinross operates across the Americas, West Africa and Mauritania, so William has a genuinely broad brief.

The company has been building out a US-focused growth pipeline, with Round Mountain Phase X and Bald Mountain Redbird 2 the key near-term projects. Kinross posted record free cash flow in Q1 2026 and confirmed full-year production guidance remains on track. 

In terms of revenue, the company is smaller than most others on this list, but CEO Paul Rollinson has run a disciplined operation and William's technical function is a big part of what keeps it performing consistently.

7. Erwin Schaufler

Role: Chief Commercial & Technical Officer
Company: South32
Headquarters: Perth, Australia
Took on role: 2024

South32 has been going through a significant change of direction, selling out of coal and building a portfolio focused on base metals. 

Erwin Schaufler joined as Chief Commercial & Technical Officer in 2024 to support that transition. His brief covers engineering standards, process improvement and technology deployment across aluminium, manganese, copper and zinc operations in Australia, southern Africa and the Americas.

South32 raised its corporate cost guidance by US$25m partly to reflect increased technology investment, which shows where South32’s priorities are. 

Matthew Daley, who joined as Deputy CEO in February 2026 ahead of succeeding Graham Kerr as Chief Executive Officer, has put operational performance at the centre of his agenda. South32 generated US$5.3bn in revenue in fiscal year 2025.

6. Nancy Guay

Role: Chief Technical Officer
Company: Evolution Mining
Headquarters: Sydney, Australia
Took on role: 2024

Nancy Guay joined Evolution Mining as Chief Technical Officer in June 2024, bringing more than 30 years of mining experience to the role. She came from Agnico Eagle, where she was Vice President of Technology, Optimisation and Innovation with oversight of 12 operations globally, including the Fosterville gold mine in Victoria.

Evolution Mining is an ASX-listed gold producer with six operating mines across Australia and Canada, including Cowal in New South Wales, Ernest Henry and Mt Rawdon in Queensland, Mungari in Western Australia and Red Lake in Ontario.

The company produced around 750,000 gold ounces in fiscal year 2025 and reported revenue of AU$4.35bn, a 35% increase year on year driven by higher gold and copper prices. Nancy's technical brief covers studies, project development, long-term planning and technical services across that portfolio.

5. Jason Sander

Role: Chief Technical Officer (Acting) 
Company: Gold Fields
Headquarters: Sandton, South Africa
Took on role: 2025

Jason Sander was appointed Acting Chief Technical Officer at Gold Fields in September 2025 when Francois Swanepoel moved to the COO role. He is a mining engineer with a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) from the University of New South Wales and brings more than 30 years of industry experience to the position, the majority of it with Gold Fields.

Most recently, he served as Vice President of Mining and Long-Term Planning, where he was responsible for the Group's operating model and strategic planning function.

Gold Fields is a NYSE and JSE-listed gold producer with operations in Australia, South Africa, Ghana, Peru, Chile and Canada. The company produced around 2.3 million gold equivalent ounces in 2025 and reported record free cash flow of US$2.9bn for the year. 

4. Dave Thornton

Role: Chief Technical Officer
Company: Newmont
Headquarters: Denver, US
Took on role: 2026

Dave Thornton was named as Newmont's incoming Chief Technical Officer in June 2026, with the appointment taking effect on July 1. 

He brings more than 25 years of mining experience to the role, joining an executive leadership team under CEO Natascha Viljoen that has been assembled to deliver on the promise of the Newcrest acquisition and to run a streamlined portfolio of 12 world-class operations consistently and well.

Dave's brief takes in exploration, asset management, processing and mine engineering across Newmont's assets in North America, South America, Australia and Africa. 

The company generated US$22.7bn in revenue in 2025 and is targeting around six million gold-equivalent ounces of annual production from those sites. That is a substantial technical operation to be responsible for.

3. Tom McCulley

Role: Chief Technical Officer
Company: Anglo American
Headquarters: London, UK
Took on role: 2025

Tom McCulley took on the top technical role at Anglo American in May 2025, stepping in when Matthew Daley left to become CEO of South32. His remit covers the full range of the company's technical capability, from mineral discovery and exploration through processing and refining, and he also has oversight of Anglo American's safety, health and environment work.

The timing of his appointment matters. CEO Duncan Wanblad has been executing a significant restructuring of the portfolio, narrowing Anglo American's focus to copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients while divesting platinum, coal and other assets. 

That process puts considerable demands on the technical function, because the assets being retained need to perform well, and the assets being sold need to be properly handed over. 

Tom is responsible for both. Anglo American reported revenues of US$26.2bn in 2025, with major operations across South America, southern Africa and Australia.

2. Johan van Jaarsveld

Role: Chief Technical Officer
Company: BHP
Headquarters: Melbourne, Australia
Took on role: 2024

Johan van Jaarsveld moved into the Chief Technical Officer role at BHP in early 2024, part of a leadership reshuffle that also saw Vandita Pant become Chief Financial Officer. 

Before that, he was BHP's Chief Development Officer, responsible for strategy, acquisitions and divestments, and for building the company's early-stage position in future-facing commodities including copper and potash.

BHP's operating model is built around the BHP Operating System, which uses data analytics, automation and continuous improvement across the asset base. Van Jaarsveld's technical organisation underpins that system across copper, iron ore, potash and nickel operations in Australia, Chile, the US and Canada. 

BHP is the world's largest mining company by market capitalisation and reported revenues of US$51.3bn in fiscal year 2025. Technology is not a side project at BHP. It sits at the heart of how the company competes.

1. Mark Davies

Role: Chief Safety and Technical Officer
Company: Rio Tinto
Headquarters: London, UK
Took on role: 2021

Mark Davies joined Rio Tinto in 1995 as a senior mechanical engineer. In the three decades since, he has held roles including Vice President Global Procurement, Chief Commercial Officer and interim CEO of the Iron and Titanium business, before being appointed Chief Technical Officer in 2021. 

He sits on Rio Tinto's Executive Committee, which puts him at the top table of one of the most complex mining organisations in the world.

Rio Tinto operates across iron ore, copper, aluminium, lithium and minerals in more than 35 countries and reported revenues of US$57.65bn in 2025. 

The company has been running autonomous haul truck fleets in the Pilbara for well over a decade, with operations managed remotely from centres in Perth, and the scale of what has been built there makes it a genuine reference point for mining technology globally. 

New CEO Simon Trott took the top job in 2025 and has signalled that operational excellence and the copper growth pipeline will be priorities. Mark is the person responsible for the technical backbone that underpins both.