Management

Portrait

Ernesto Balarezo, CEO

Mr. Balarezo has solid management and corporate experience in leading multinational companies in the mining, cement and services industries. Today, he is an Independent Board Member in Compañía Minera Caravelí, Grupo LAR and Compañía Agrícola Chapi, as well as part of the Strategic Committees in Cobra and Spencer Stuart - Perú. He was also a Board member for AENZA (previously Graña y Montero) during its restructuring process.

During 2016 and 2017, Ernesto worked in the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, forming the Delivery Unit, which had the task of monitoring the progress of the 6 priority projects of the Government.

Before that, he held positions such as Executive Vice President for the Americas in Gold Fields Limited, and CEO of Gold Fields La Cima S.A. During this time his highlights were his contributions in the strategic definition and global results of the company and assisting in the formation of a world class team.

Previously, he worked for the Hochschild Group for 16 years. His last position was Vice President of Operations at Hochschild Mining, where he was responsible for five operations in Peru, Argentina and Mexico, as well as the mining projects in development. He also held the positions of General Manager of Hochschild Mining in Mexico and then in Peru, as well as Deputy General Manager and Finance Manager in Cementos Pacasmayo.

In addition, he has been Director of several companies related to the Hochschild Group, Gold Fields Ltd and Director - Founder of the Peruvian - South African Chamber. He has also made contributions as Director of Peru 2021 and in IPAE Acción Empresarial.

He has a master's degree in Industrial Management (MS) and a Bachelor in Industrial Engineering (BS), both degrees obtained at the University Texas A&M in USA. He has followed various courses of specialization in direction, management, finance, and human resources in institutions like Institute of Directors, Harvard, Wharton, INSEAD, IESE, among others.

Portrait

José Fernández-Baca, CFO

Mr. Fernández-Baca's career spans more than four decades in financial leadership positions for multinational companies, at local and international levels, in leading companies in their respective industries, including mining, textiles, and consumer goods, where he has held positions including General Manager, CFO, and Finance Manager. Mr. Fernández Baca's experience in mining includes ten years in financial leadership and as a board member of Anglo American in Peru, and most recently three years as Finance Manager and Director at Sociedad Minera Corona SA, a subsidiary of Sierra Metals, in Peru.

Mr. Fernández-Baca holds a degree in Economics from the Universidad del Pacifico, Lima-Peru, and an MBA from Northern Illinois University, US. In addition, he has advanced executive program certifications from Northwestern, INCAE, Cambridge, and the Universidad de Piura, among others.

Portrait

Alonso Lujan, Interim General Manager, Mexico

Mr. Lujan is a Geological and Mining Engineer with over 26 years international experience in mineral exploration with a positive track record for increasing companies' resources, output and company value. Mr. Lujan most recently spent 6 years with Mata-Trafigura as the General Manger having been promoted from Exploration and Operations Manager. While there he oversaw the discovery and commissioning of the Magdelana Project with potential for 50 million tonnes within 2 years and helped to double production as well as optimize and reduced costs. Prior to that he worked with Hochschild Mining for 5 years and Minas de Bacis SA de CV for 14 years where he helped to also increase resources, increase output and reduce costs.

Portrait

James León, General Manager, Peru

Mr. James León is a Mining Engineer with more than 27 years of experience in mechanized mining operations. He has experience related to mining production and planning, mine design and expansion, cost estimation and control and has worked with Sierra Metals since August 2017 as Operations Manager in Mexico, leading the expansion and optimization of two underground mines. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. León worked with Buenaventura, where he held various positions until he was Regional Operations Manager and formed the team that launched two underground gold and silver mining projects of Antapite (2001) and Tambomayo (2017). He holds a Masters Degree in Strategic Business Administration (MBA) from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) as well as a degree from the Management Development Program (PDD) of the University of Piura.

Portrait

Gabriel Pinto, Vice President Sustainability and Corporate Affairs

Mr Pinto is a forestry engineer with more than 20 years of experience in Environmental Management related to operations in the mining and hydrocarbons sector, as well as community relations, health, and safety. His was previouly at Barrick Gold where he held various positions in its operations and was part of the corporate Audit team with activities in South America, Africa, and Oceania. He was also Permits Manager for Peru, and later assumed the position of Corporate Director. After that, he was the Latin American Regional Director for Safety, Health and Environment.

Portrait

Alberto Calle, Vice President, Human Resources

Mr. Calle’s professional career spans more than three decades in industries such as retail, banking, organizational consulting, and mining. His area of focus for the last 20 years has been in Human Capital, with 13 years dedicated to the large-scale mining industry. Mr. Calle previously held positions at MMG – Las Bambas as Human Resource Manager as well as various roles at Newmont Mining. There, he was Regional Manager of Human Resources when he undertook an international assignment to the Company’s corporate offices in Denver, Colorado, as Director of Human Resources Programs. In this role, he collaborated on global leadership development projects. Mr. Calle holds a degree from the Faculty of Administrative Sciences at the University of Lima as well as an MBA from the University of Piura and has completed courses in Executive Leadership at Daniels School of Business, Denver University and Executive Coaching at Teachers College of Columbia Business School, New York.