Russia - October 7, Moscow, Russia - Polyus Gold International, a gold producer, announced that Ilya Yuzhanov and Edward Dowling have been appointed to the board as independent non-executive directors.
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Mr. Ilya Yuzhanov has also been elected Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Nominations Committee.
Mr. Dowling has been appointed to the Health, Safety, Environment and Community Committee and the Risk Committee.
Mr. Yuzhanov is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of OJSC Alrosa having been a member of the Supervisory Board since 2009. Additionally, since 2012 he has served on the Board of OJSC Otkritie Financial Corporation and is a member of the Audit Committee of Rusnano State Corporation.
From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Yuzhanov chaired the Board of Directors of OJSC Polymetal. He also served as Chairman and member of the Supervisory Board of OJSC Nomos-Bank. He has also served on the boards of a number of other leading Russian companies including Gazprom, United Energy Systems of Russia, Russian Railways, OJSC Kirovsky Zavod, OJSC Uralkali, OJSC Interregional Distribution Grid Companies Holding, and OJSC Novatek.
Mr. Yuzhanov also served as Minister for Antimonopoly Policy and Support to Entrepreneurship of the Russian Federation. He is a member of the Supervisory Board of the Association of Independent Directors of Russia and has been awarded the Association's titles of Russia's Best Independent Director and Russia's Best Chairman of the Board. He graduated with honours from the Leningrad State University and obtained his PhD in economics.
Since 1998, Mr. Dowling has been a director of Alacer Gold where he served as President and CEO between 1998 and 2012. Since 2012, he has served as a director of Teck Resources Limited. From 2011 to 2013, he served as a Director of Victoria Gold Corp.
Mr. Dowling started his career in mining in 1988 as an engineer with Phelps Dodge where, by 1992, he became Operations Manager and General Superintendent of Chino Mines Company, a Phelps Dodge subsidiary.
Mr. Dowling also served as Senior Vice President at Cyprus Amax Minerals with primary responsibility for process management and engineering. As Executive Vice President, he headed operations at Cleveland Cliffs, he was Executive Director for Group Mining and Exploration at De Beers, and President and CEO of Meridian Gold Inc.
Mr. Dowling sits on the Executive Committee of the US Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration and is a member of the US National Mining Association, the US Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America and the University Advisory Board of Colorado School of Mines. He is the recipient of numerous industry awards. ■