Global Graphite Industry & Mining Expertise

Gregory B. Bowes, B.SC. (GEOLOGY), MBA, P.GEO.
Chairman

Mr. Bowes has over 30 years of experience in the resource and engineering industries. He holds an MBA from Queen’s University and an Honours B.Sc., Geology degree from the University of Waterloo. In January 2023 Greg was appointed Chairman of the board. From June to December 2022 he as the Executive Chairman.

As CEO he lead Northern Graphite for over 13 years, a role which culminated in the financing and acquisition of Imerys’ natural graphite division. He was previously Senior Vice President of Orezone Gold Corporation (ORE:TSX-V) and Chief Financial Officer of its predecessor, Orezone Resources Inc.  Mr. Bowes also served as President, CEO and a director of TSX listed San Anton Resource Corporation.

Cam Birge, B.A., B.ED., M.SC.
Director

Mr. Birge has over 20 years of experience advising public and private companies specializing in the resource, real estate and cannabis industries in Canada, the United States and Mexico. He also has over 20 years of experience in public and private education, including five years as Adjunct Professor of Business and twice elected Head of the Graduate Business Department at United States International University, Mexico City campus. He was the founder of Industrial Minerals Inc., the original owner of the Bissett Creek graphite project, and was responsible for the management change that led to the formation of Northern Graphite Corporation.

Mr. Birge previously was the Vice-President of the Trust for Sustainable Development and was instrumental in successfully negotiating the $3 billion Loreto Bay development project with the Mexican federal government. In addition, he previously served as CEO, President and Director of Industrial Minerals Inc.; CEO, President and Director of Ammex Gold; and, CFO and Director of Wind Works Power Corp.

Samantha Espley, P.ENG., MASC, FCAE,
Director

Ms. Espley is a visionary business executive with over 30 years of mining industry experience in corporate strategy, operations, and capital projects, and a leader in health and safety, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability. She is an independent board member of Paramount Gold Nevada Corp., a board member and Industry Chair with the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and past President of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum.

She is a Senior Advisor at Stantec and author of The Whole Mine approach as a core platform for engineering work and guiding safe, sustainable, and engaging mining practises. She is a licensed professional engineer with degrees from the University of Toronto and Laurentian University.

Hugues Jacquemin, BSC HONS. DIPL. ESP.
Director

Mr Jacquemin is the CEO of Northern Graphite. He has over 30 years of senior management experience growing Specialty Materials businesses for listed Fortune 500 (AVY, OC, NK.PA) and Private Equity (Platinum Equity) held companies in a broad spectrum of industries including graphite mining and processing, lithium ion and other battery materials, fuel cells and hydrogen production, graphene and carbon nanotubes, synthetic graphite and carbon materials as well as carbon and glass fiber composites.

He assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Northern Graphite in June 2022 after providing his services as an independent Special Advisor to the board from February to May 2022. From April 2014 to September 2018, Hugues was Chief Executive Officer of the Graphite and Carbon Division of Imerys S.A. where he led the development of the Namibian Graphite mine as well as spearheaded a large investment program to develop a full line of Li Ion battery materials for the fast-growing EV market.

From September 2018 to April 2020 Hugues was the CEO for the Americas for OCSIAL a leader in the Carbon Nanotube industry. From February 2021, he acted as an independent expert for NINE58 Advisors, an arm’s length investment advisory firm based in the United Kingdom which advised Northern on the acquisitions of the Lac des Iles and Namibian Graphite mines from Imerys. Hugues is a Belgian citizen and fluent in English, French, Spanish and Italian.

Frank O’Brien-Bernini, B.SC., M. ENG
Director

Mr. O’Brien-Bernini is the Chair of the Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) and Nominating Committee of Northern Graphite. He is a retired, long-time employee and executive of Owens Corning.  Mr. O’Brien-Bernini served as Owens Corning’s Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer in which capacity he was responsible for its global corporate sustainability strategy development and execution including environmental, health and safety, medical/wellness and product stewardship. 

Frank also served as Owens Cornings’ Vice President and Chief Research & Development Officer where he was responsible for new product and process development, new application development, manufacturing productivity, and customer technical support for all business units.  Mr. O’Brien-Bernini holds Bachelor of Science and Masters in Mechanical Engineering degrees from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Hugues Jacquemin, BSC HONS. DIPL. ESP.
Chief Executive Officer

Mr Jacquemin has over 30 years of senior management experience growing Specialty Materials businesses for listed Fortune 500 (AVY, OC, NK.PA) and Private Equity (Platinum Equity) held companies in a broad spectrum of industries including graphite mining and processing, lithium ion and other battery materials, fuel cells and hydrogen production, graphene and carbon nanotubes, synthetic graphite and carbon materials as well as carbon and glass fiber composites.

He assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Northern Graphite in June 2022 after providing his services as an independent Special Advisor to the board from February to May 2022. From April 2014 to September 2018, Hugues was Chief Executive Officer of the Graphite and Carbon Division of Imerys S.A. where he led the development of the Namibian Graphite mine as well as spearheaded a large investment program to develop a full line of Li Ion battery materials for the fast-growing EV market.

From September 2018 to April 2020 Hugues was the CEO for the Americas for OCSIAL a leader in the Carbon Nanotube industry. From February 2021, he acted as an independent expert for NINE58 Advisors, an arm’s length investment advisory firm based in the United Kingdom which advised Northern on the acquisitions of the Lac des Iles and Namibian Graphite mines from Imerys. Hugues is a Belgian citizen and fluent in English, French, Spanish and Italian.

Niall Moore, CPA
Interim Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Moore assumed the role of interim CFO as of Nov. 30, 2024. Niall brings over 35 years of experience working as a senior financial executive in the mining industry. A Chartered Professional Accountant and already Northern’s group controller, Niall holds a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) and an MBA from York University.

Niall has extensive experience in financial management and reporting and has worked with some of Canada’s most prestigious public mining companies, including Noranda Inc, Placer Dome Inc. and Barrick Gold Corporation. He has also held senior accounting roles with Equinox Gold, Pretium Resources, SSR Mining and Polymet Mining and was formerly an Audit Partner at Ernst & Young LLP.

Maximilian Meier
Interim Chief Operating Officer

A passionate believer in an electric future, and already the Vice-President Operations & Engineering of Northern’s battery materials division, Max stepped into the role as our interim Chief Operating Officer on March 10, 2025, bringing with him proven expertise in developing and executing global manufacturing strategies, with a focus on expansion and ramp-up initiatives for high-performance battery materials.

Max holds a Master’s degree in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, complemented by a trajectory of operations management, project engineering, and global production.

Dave Marsh,B.SC.
Chief Technical Officer

Mr Marsh has worked in the mining industry for over 40 years and has extensive experience developing new mining projects – from conceptualization, through feasibility studies, construction, and operations. He worked in Southern Africa for over 25 years with engineering groups, junior mining companies and multi-national producers in both technical and executive management positions. He also spent 5 years in Australia with Paladin Energy developing operations at both their Langer Heinrich and Kayelekera uranium mines.

He has previously held Executive Management level positions within EPCM companies, Junior Mining Companies, Owners Project Teams and Independent Engineering Consulting Groups as well as sitting on the Board of several Junior Mining Companies. For the past 10 years he has lived in Canada working initially for Avalon Advanced Materials before forming his own independent consultancy company providing processing and project management services. Dave is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. He graduated from Leeds University, England in 1980 with a BSc (Hon’s) in Mineral Processing.

Michael Grimm
Chief Commerical Officer

As Chief Commercial Officer and as President of our Battery Materials Division, Michael has a track record of leading and managing global teams in the field of market development for next generation battery chemistries.  He is a business-development and strategic management expert who has worked with clients across geographies, from Germany and the Netherlands to China, South Korea and Japan.

Michael has a track record of delivering strong financial results. He is a skilled negotiator, with nearly a decade of international business experience and with a history of building client relationships with the world’s leading auto- and battery-makers. As the leader of Northern’s commercial relationships, Michael is driven by his passion for defining the future landscape for battery metals.

John McNeice, CPA, CA
Corporate Secretary

Mr. McNeice provides financial consulting and chief financial officer services to emerging private and junior public companies in the resource sector. Currently, Mr. McNeice is CFO of Gold79 Mines Ltd. (AUU:TSX-V); C3 Metals Inc. (CCCM:TSX-V); and, Lahontan Gold Corp. (LG:TSX-V) where he is responsible for financial and regulatory reporting as well as day-to-day financial management. From September 2004 to May 2007, Mr. McNeice was CFO of Ur-Energy Inc. (URE:TSX/URG:NYSE American), a uranium exploration and development company now a US based producer of uranium. He was a key member of the management team directly involved in the initial public offering on the TSX.

During Mr. McNeice’s tenure, Ur-Energy raised an aggregate of $150 million in a series of private placements, the IPO and several significant secondary financings. From 1990 to 2003, Mr. McNeice worked in public accounting with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP where his primary focus was providing audit and regulatory reporting advisory services to Canadian and US publicly listed clients. Mr. McNeice holds an Honours B.Comm. degree from McMaster University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (Ontario).