Mr. La Salle, FCPA, FCA, has over 20 years of experience in the development and operation of mining projects in West Africa. In 1995, he founded Canadian-based SEMAFO Inc., which grew from a junior explorer to a +250,000 ounce-per-year gold producer in West Africa. Mr. La Salle has been, and remains, a key stakeholder, an investor, a chairman, a board member or an executive of many public and private sector companies, primarily in the mining, energy and clean tech sectors where he has been a strong proponent of transformational change and shareholder value creation.