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About the 2013 Judges
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Alberto Hassan has over 45 years of industrial experience in the Steel, Direct Reduction and Automotive industries. He was instrumental in the development of the Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) industry in Venezuela, as well as the FINMET® Process Technology.
Among others, he served as General Manager of Siderurgica Venezolana, SIVENSA and FIOR de Venezuela, Project Director of the VENPRECAR HBI plant and the CASIMA Steel mill as well as President & CEO of ORINOCO IRON. Also held the positions of COB of the COPAL Palua Port, President of BRIFER, IBMS, SDP International Corp and Factory Manager at General Motors de Venezuela.
Mr. Hassan founded in 1998 the HBIA, Hot Briquetted Iron Association Ltd., the international trade association for HBI and served as Chairman until its merger with International Pig Iron Association (IPIA) to form the International Iron Metallics Association (IIMA), of which he is President.
Mr. Hassan is a Director of Northern Iron and HR Consulting CV.
Mr. Hassan received a BS from Lowell Technological Institute (University of Massachusetts) and a special post-graduate degree in Industrial & Automotive Engineering from the General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan.
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David was for eleven years until 2001 Chief Executive Officer (and a Director) of the London Metal Exchange, and remains the longest serving CEO in the Exchange’s 135 year history.
Under David’s stewardship the Exchange’s turnover increased tenfold and its global market share increased to over 90 percent.
He was also at that time Non-executive Director of the London Clearing House Limited, now LCH.Clearnet, Non-executive Director of the Futures & Options Association, a committee member of IFSL, since rebranded as TheCityUK, a member of the Bank of England’s City Euro Group, and was and remains an Honorary Member of the Exchange.
Subsequently, between 2002 and 2012, David worked in the Middle East, most recently as Executive Director responsible for Middle East Business Development at China Construction Bank International (CCBI), China and the world’s second largest bank, where he was responsible for developing all facets of investment banking activities between China and the Middle East.
During this period David had UK, UAE and Hong Kong residency status.
While based in the Middle East David was at the same time Non-Executive Chairman, Gulf region, at the leading financial PR company, Financial Dynamics, CEO of his own company, DKI, and Middle Eastern Non-executive Advisory Board member for three UK based institutions - the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, Jersey Finance and Cass Business School.
Prior to joining CCBI David was Managing Director Business Development at HSBC Middle East’s Global Banking MENA division where he was involved across the full spectrum of investment banking and was also Senior Executive Officer at HSBC Middle East Leasing Partnership, an entity he established for the Bank. Prior that he was Managing Director and, later, acting Chief Executive, at the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the then newly established regulator which he played a leading role in establishing and which was responsible for regulating all the financial services activities undertaken in and from the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Now back in the UK since April 2012 David has retained his Non-executive Middle Eastern Advisory Board membership at Jersey Finance, has recently become a Non-executive Director of the UK subsidiary of an international insurance company, and has a number of other business interests.
David is a British qualified accountant (FCCA), business graduate (MBA) and Chartered Fellow of the Securities & Investment Institute (Chartered FCSI).
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Ralph Oppenheimer (71) is Executive Chairman of Stemcor, the world's largest independent steel trader. Headquartered in London, with 145 business units in 45 countries around the world, Stemcor trades approximately 20 million tonnes of steel and steel-making raw materials per annum, with annual turnover around £5bn.
Stemcor has evolved from a traditional steel trader into an end-to-end service provider. Its services span every step in the steel supply chain – from minehead to factory floor - and comprise six core competencies: mining, raw materials trading, steel trading, distribution, stockholding and finance.
Ralph joined Stemcor in 1965, having previously worked as a government economist. He was appointed a director of Stemcor Holdings Limited in 1972 and Executive Chairman in 1982. He has been married to Helen since 1971 and has two children and five grandchildren.
Stemcor was formed in London in 1951 by Ralph’s father, Hans Oppenheimer, and is still a privately owned company. The majority of shares are held by the Oppenheimer family, with the balance of shares held by employees.
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Mr. Rana Som is now a well-known Management Consultant, especially in the fields of Metals and Mining in India. He is now associated with a number of steel and mining companies in India and abroad, as Independent Director / Corporate Advisor. Mr. Som had been the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of India’s largest iron ore mining company, viz., National Minerals Development Corporation (NMDC) from 2007 till his superannuation on 31st December 2011. During his tenure as CMD, NMDC was not only bestowed with the status of a jewel public sector, but also adjudged by various bodies as the best performing Public Sector Company in India. Mr. Som was successful not only in increasing the production and profit in the company, but also in expanding the business through forward and backward integration and domestic and overseas acquisition. NMDC under his leadership started setting up its prestigious integrated steel plant project of 3 million tonne capacity in the State of Chhattisgarh in India. NMDC in 2011 had posted its net post tax profit of about USD 1.5 Billion.
Mr. Som was also the CMD of another mining company, viz., Hindustan Copper Ltd., which had been the only copper mining company in India. Mr. Som is known to have been the architect of turning around Hindustan Copper Ltd. from a long phase of sickness to revival.
Mr. Som holds a Masters degree in Economics and a Post Graduation Diploma in Human Resource Management. He started his career in 1972 and served various organisations for more than 39 years till December 2011. He has been an author of number of articles and speaker in a number of national and international forums.