Team

Sir Mick Davis is the Founder and Managing Partner of Vision Blue, a Director of Vision Blue Resources, as well as the Chair of a number of its portfolio companies (Sinova Global, Serra Verde, NextSource Materials and Ferro-Alloy Resources).

He is a highly successful mining executive accredited with listing, leading and building Xstrata, as CEO, into one of the largest diversified mining companies globally prior to its acquisition by Glencore in 2013. He grew Xstrata over a ten-year period from a market value of US$500m to US$60bn, employing more than 90,000 people and operating in over 22 countries.

Previously, he was CFO of Eskom in South Africa, and subsequently Chair of Billiton Coal and CFO of Billiton.

During his career, he has raised over US$40bn from global capital markets and successfully completed over US$120bn of corporate transactions in the metals and mining industry, including the creation of the Ingwe Coal Corporation in South Africa; the listing of Billiton; the merger of BHP and Billiton; as well as numerous transactions at Xstrata culminating in its sale to Glencore.

Sir Mick Davis is a Chartered Accountant by profession and holds an honours degree in Commerce from Rhodes University, South Africa and an Honorary Doctorate from Bar Ilan University, Israel.

Andrew co-founded Vision Blue and is responsible for developing the long-term Vision Blue investment strategy and sourcing and executing investments. He also manages investor relationships and works closely with new and existing limited partners globally. He is a Director of Vision Blue Resources.

Andrew has significant experience in the mining, investment banking and private equity sectors across transaction execution, IPO processes, project financing and stakeholder engagement.

Prior to Vision Blue, he founded a natural resources advisory business which resulted in him negotiating and leading a number of mining private equity transactions. In addition, he has spent significant time in corporate development roles in the mining sector, as well as taking active roles in numerous mining technology businesses.

Andrew began his career at J.P. Morgan in the UK Corporate Finance and Capital Markets division where he participated in over US$30bn of transactions, principally focussed on the mining sector.

Aaron is part of Vision Blue’s investment team and is responsible for sourcing new opportunities, due diligence, structuring and negotiating transactions, and strategically supporting the management teams of portfolio investments.

Aaron has over 20 years’ experience across the mining, investment banking and private equity sectors. His work for global investment banks and high-profile investment groups has included corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity capital markets transactions, valuation and technical due diligence.

Prior to joining Vision Blue, he was Head of Corporate Development for I-Pulse Inc. (part of the Ivanhoe Group). Aaron was also previously Head of Business Development for QKR, a Qatar-backed private mining investment fund, and a former Director of Investec’s Resources M&A team. Prior to joining Investec, Aaron worked at Gresham Partners and UBS in Australia.

Aaron began his career as a mining consultant at MINSERVE Group having graduated in Engineering from the University of Queensland. He also holds a Master of Applied Finance from Melbourne University.

Jaime is part of Vision Blue’s investment team and is responsible for the full investment process, from originating and assessing new opportunities, to executing transactions and strategically supporting the management teams of portfolio investments.

Jaime has over 15 years of experience in the metals and mining, private equity, and investment banking sectors.

Prior to joining Vision Blue, he spent seven years in the Business Development and M&A teams at BHP, the world’s largest diversified mining company, where he played a key role in the identification, execution and implementation of acquisitions, disposals and other strategic funding and investment initiatives across commodities and jurisdictions. Jaime was also previously VP Business Development for QKR Corp., a Qatar-backed private mining investment fund.

He has also previously co-founded a private company seeking to acquire and develop a greenfield mining project in West Africa.

Jaime began his career in investment banking with UBS and Macquarie Capital, having graduated from the London School of Economics with a BSc. in Geography with Economics.

Tilly is part of Vision Blue’s investment team, focussed on investment evaluation, transaction due diligence and execution, and portfolio company oversight.

Tilly has over five years’ experience in the finance industry.

Prior to joining Vision Blue, Tilly was an Associate at Jefferies in the Metals and Mining equity research team, and began her career at KPMG, focussing on the audit of global mining companies.

Tilly is a qualified Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and has a BSc in Geophysics from University College London.

Kenton is part of Vision Blue’s investment team with a primary focus on investment evaluation, transaction due diligence and execution.

Prior to joining Vision Blue, Kenton worked for a family office with interests within the natural resources sector.

Kenton has obtained an MSc in Investment Management from London’s Bayes (formerly Cass) Business School. He is also a CFA Charterholder and CQF certified.

Oliver is Vision Blue’s Chief Financial Officer, responsible for managing the financial operations and administration of the Group, with oversight of financial and regulatory reporting, investment structuring and tax, as well as maintaining Vision Blue’s investor relationships.

Oliver has over 20 years’ experience in junior mining project development, private equity and investment banking.

Prior to joining Vision Blue, he co-founded Strata Limited, a private investment company focussed on the development of early-stage natural resource projects in Africa. He started his career in investment banking at J.P. Morgan where he worked on a range of large transactions in the natural resources sector.

Oliver graduated from the University of Warwick with a BSc in Economics.

James is Vision Blue’s General Counsel responsible for overseeing legal matters and managing Vision Blue’s business operations and administration. He also works closely with the investment team in relation to both portfolio management and assessing, structuring and executing new investments.

James has over 20 years’ experience across private equity, investments and mining.

Prior to joining Vision Blue, he worked for BGF, a specialist minority investor with over 400 portfolio companies and QKR, a Qatar-backed private mining investment fund.

James spent the first ten years of his career focussed on corporate advisory and mergers and acquisitions at Linklaters LLP, an international law firm based in London.

Markus is responsible for ensuring that Vision Blue positively influences and supports portfolio companies and management teams in aligning their ESG frameworks and systems with leading industry standards and practices.

Markus has 30 years of international experience as a senior corporate sustainability manager in industry, banking and consulting. Past roles have included Global Head of Health, Safety, Environment and Communities at Xstrata, Partner and leader of PwC’s Swiss Sustainable Business Solutions Practice, and Head of Environmental Risk Management, Department of Chief Credit Officer, at Swiss Bank Corporation (now UBS).

Markus is currently the Managing Partner of ENEMCO LLC, advising mining companies on ESG, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability matters. He is also a strategic advisor to the Zug Commodity Association on ESG related matters, a member of the Sounding Board for Argor Heraeus, a Swiss precious metals refiner, and a member of the Advisory Board of Swisspeace. 

Markus holds a Master of Environmental Science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich).

Graham leads Vision Blue’s in-house technical team and is responsible for the analysis and evaluation of potential investments, as well as providing support to the management teams of portfolio investments. 

Graham is a highly experienced mining executive with a strong technical background, who has worked for some of the world’s leading mining companies. Previous roles include Vice President Strategy for BHP Billiton, President Director of Billiton Indonesia and Advisor on International Development to the CEO of SUEK, one of Russia’s largest coal producers. In addition, he has worked in smaller companies and start-ups, where he has earned significant fund-raising experience and has completed projects in Colombia, South Africa and Madagascar. He also has significant experience working in Mongolia where he was CEO of two mining companies, completing a successful turnaround process on an operating mine.

Graham has worked in over 20 different countries and is a Fellow of the Geological Society, London. He was previously a Board member of the World Coal Association and Vice Chairman of the UNECE ad-hoc Group of Experts. He holds a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Geology and an MBA.

Nick is part of Vision Blue’s technical team and is responsible for undertaking technical diligence on potential investments, particularly from an engineering and mining perspective, as well as seeking to identify value and provide technical support to the management teams of portfolio investments. 

Nick has over 25 years of experience in mining, through consulting, operational leadership, study management roles and due diligence, project valuation and M&A activities across a range of commodities including gold, copper, iron ore, manganese, diamonds, nickel, coal and, more recently, battery metals.

He has worked for both mining consultancies and minor and major resources companies, beginning his career with Golder Associates and then working for SRK Consulting, BHP, Rio Tinto and Xstrata among others.

Nick holds a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Geology from London’s Royal School of Mines at Imperial College.

Kenton is part of Vision Blue’s technical team and is responsible for undertaking technical diligence on potential investments, particularly from a processing and metallurgy perspective, as well as seeking to identify value and provide technical support to the management teams of portfolio investments. 

Kenton has 18 years of international experience as a senior metallurgist in mining operations and projects, consulting and private equity, with prior roles at BHP, Xstrata and Glencore.

Robert is a consultant to Vision Blue and undertakes technical diligence on potential investments, particularly from a geological and resource evaluation perspective, as well as seeking to identify value and provide technical support to the management teams of portfolio investments. 

He started his career working as a mine and exploration geologist in Wales and then Mongolia, across a variety of commodities. Subsequently, he worked in the international development team for SUEK, one of Russia’s largest coal producers, and was involved in the techno-economic review of multiple international mining exploration and development projects, as well as geological modelling and resource work on existing company assets.

Robert holds a BSc in Geology from the University of South Wales and an MSc in Mining Geology from the Camborne School of Mines.

Johnny is a consultant to Vision Blue, contributing a wealth of technical and operating experience in the mining industry spanning 30 years, and managing operational turnarounds and large capital expansions across a range of commodities and jurisdictions. He is also currently CEO of Kobaloni Energy.

Johnny has previously been Deputy CEO and COO of Gem Diamonds and CEO of Chemaf, and prior to this was with BHP Western Australia Iron Ore where he was General Manager at Mining Area C, the largest iron ore mine in the BHP portfolio, from 2013-2015, leading a number of successful operational efficiency programs. He has also acted as a Senior Exploration Manager in Zambia and Chile for BHP from 2011-2013, Operations Manager at AngloGold Ashanti from 2009-2010 and held numerous managerial positions at De Beers from 2001-2009.

He is currently also a Non-Executive Director of Zanaga Iron Ore.

Johnny holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering from The University of Johannesburg and a Bachelor’s degree in Business from The University of South Africa.

Katie is Executive Assistant to Vision Blue’s Managing Partner, Sir Mick Davis.

Katie has ten years’ experience working with individuals and family offices, across the finance and property industry.

At the start of her career, Katie worked as a talent agent within the entertainment industry, before starting up her own company in London sourcing EAs and PAs for private clients.

Katie graduated from The University of Nottingham with a BA in American History and Literature.

Charlotte is an experienced Executive Assistant and Office Manager, providing high level support to VBR’s executive leadership. Charlotte formerly worked at Acuity Professional Services where her responsibilities included managing senior executive calendars, arranging off-site events, and assisting with HR processes. She also served as Office Manager, overseeing day-to-day operations and supporting key business functions.

Prior experience also includes Technical Customer Service Advisor at Blue Whale Spa, the first point of contact for clients in need of technical support.