On April 11 local time, SQM announced in Chile the list of candidates for board members nominated by its major shareholders Pampa Group, Tianqi Lithium and Kowa Group. The candidates were expected to be nominated at SQM annual general meeting to be held at the end of this month.
The three directors nominated by Tianqi Lithium are Ashley Ozols, an Australian business consultant; Dang Qi, former chief reporter of Xinhua News Agency in Santiago, Chile; and Antonio Schneider, a well-known businessmen in Chile. Their nominations will take effect after being approved by SQM annual general meeting.
In December 2021, Tianqi Lithium picked Ashley Ozols, an Australian business consultant, to replace Robert J. Zatta, an American corporate executive who previously resigned, as a member of SQM Board of Directors. Working in international investment banking for over 19 years, Ozols is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and has rich experience in cross-border investment, mergers & acquisitions, strategic consulting and corporate finance in Australia, America and Asia. Before becoming a director of SQM, he worked for Tianqi Lithium and participated in the share acquisition of SQM and then was in charge of post-investment management. He, therefore, has a sound understanding of Chile and SQM, and he has went to Chile and Atacama Salt Lake to investigate for many times. In addition, he is also responsible for overseeing the operation and management of SQM's joint ventures in Australia since he lives mostly there.
Dang Qi was a Chinese journalist with extensive work experience and connections in Latin America before being chosen as a director of SQM's board. She graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University with a major in Spanish language and culture, and was based in Latin America for 9 years as the chief reporter of Xinhua News Agency's Santiago Branch in Chile, so she is very familiar with the local business environment. More importantly, she went to Atacama Salt Lake many times and has followed Tianqi's share acquisition of SQM. She will be the first Chinese director of SQM’s board.
As a well-known businessmen in Chile, Antonio Schneider has been working on investment and management for over 35 years in many fields, including natural resources, agriculture and infrastructure. He has insightful views on Chinese and Chilean cultures, local business environment, mining and natural resources industries, and also has rich experience in investment, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic management and consulting. In addition, he served as director for Chilean enterprises, such as Yadrán, Invertec and BancoEstado.
So far Tianqi Lithium holds about 23% of shares of SQM, which means it can nominate three board members of the company.
Photo | HA, Frank Chun Shing, director and president of Tutianqi Lithium Corporation
led a delegation to visited Atacama Salt Lake in Chile in November 2021
"We are confident in the three nominees. We believe that with their valuable and extensive experiences, they will make a lot of economic sense for SQM through their unique perspectives. What’s more, they will help SQM maximize its value for shareholders and stakeholders, address its future business challenges, uphold its sustainable development path and even become the cornerstone of the new energy revolution." said HA, Frank Chun Shing, director and president of Tianqi Lithium.
At the same time, President HA also expressed recognition and gratitude to Francisco Ugarte, Georges De Bourguignon, and Robert J. Zatta for the extraordinary efforts they made during their tenure as directors of SQM. They will remain trusted partners of Tianqi Lithium.
Contributed and published by: Board Office
