Leadership

Senior Management

Mark A. Smith

President and CEO

Mr. Smith has more than 36 years of experience in operating, developing, and financing mining and strategic materials projects in the Americas and  abroad. Mr. Smith is currently the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of NioCorp Developments Ltd., (“NioCorp”) (TSX:  NB; OTCQX: NIOBF; FSE: BR3) which plans to produce niobium, scandium, and titanium, strategic metals used in advanced alloys and  superalloys. Mr. Smith is well recognized in the mining community, having served as President, CEO, and Director of Molycorp, Inc., where he was instrumentally involved in taking the company public. Prior to that, Mr. Smith was the President and CEO of Chevron Mining Inc. from 2005 through 2008. He was also Vice President for Unocal Corporation where he managed the real estate, remediation, mining and carbon divisions for over 22 years. From 2000 to 2007, Mr. Smith also served as a Director and Shareholder Representative of Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM), a private company that currently produces approximately 85% of the world supply of Niobium.

Mr. Smith has a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Colorado State University and a Juris Doctor cum laude from Western State University, College of Law.

Toni Wendel

Chief Financial Officer & Corporate Secretary

Prior to her appointment as CFO and Corporate Secretary, Ms. Wendel served as IBC’s Corporate Controller.  Previously, she was Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Treasurer for North American operations for PMG Corp., a joint venture of the powder metal divisions of Plansee and Mitsubishi Materials Global.  Prior to that, she spent 15 years in various positions overseeing the finance activities of Diamet Corporation, a privately held, wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Materials.  Ms. Wendel received her B.A. and M.B.A. from Indiana Wesleyan University.

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Ben Rampulla

President, IBC Engineered Materials

Mr. Rampulla, who previously served as Engineering Manager at IBC’s beryllium-aluminum casting facility in Wilmington, MA, is a 40-year veteran of the investment casting and high-performance alloy manufacturing industry.  Prior to joining IBC, Mr. Rampulla was Director of Engineering at Nu-Cast, Inc., which produced investment castings of beryllium-aluminum and other alloys for aerospace and other industries.  Previously, he worked for 29 years at Precision Castparts Corporation, including serving as Chief Engineer at that Company’s aerospace materials foundry, a $40 million-a-year revenue generating facility, and General Manager of Wyman-Gordon Titanium Casting Corp.  Earlier in his career, he held positions at Ingersoll-Rand and Hitchiner Manufacturing.  A Six Sigma Blackbelt and Kaizan trainer, Mr. Rampulla received his B.S. in Ceramic Engineering from Rutgers University, and is a graduate of the Whittemore School of Business’ Executive Development Program. 

Mark Wolma

President, IBC Copper Alloys

Mr. Wolma has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing, sales, and service of electrical, mechanical and hydraulic apparatus.  Previously, he served as Vice President of Operations for Scherer Industrial Group, Inc.  He also was Director of the Copper and Brass Service Association.  Formerly, Mark was active in the Electrical Apparatus Service Association.  He attended Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

Rajeev Jain

Vice President of Sales

Mr. Jain formerly worked at Hussey Cooper in various senior positions for 10 years before joining Nonferrous Products, which IBC acquired in October 2008, as VP of sales.  Rajeev received a Bachelor of Engineering in Metallurgy in 1991 from Rourkela, India, and received his MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in 2008.

Jim Sims

Director of Investor and Public Relations

Jim has 25+ years of experience in marketing, media relations, public affairs, and investor relations. He currently is the CEO of Policy Communications, Inc. and serves as VP of External Affairs for  NioCorp Developments Ltd.  Formerly, he was a White House aide, a U.S. Senate Chief of Staff, the CEO of the Western Business Roundtable, and Chairman of the Rare Earth Technology Alliance. He received his B.A., with honors, from Georgetown University.