Full Name: Aristidis Anagnostaras-Adams
Position: Executive chairperson of KEFI Minerals, partner in International Mining Partners (IMP) and chairperson of Semarang Enterprises
Main Activity of the Company: KEFI is developing the Tulu Kapi gold mine, in Ethiopia, and exploring regionally in the Arabian Nubian Shield. IMP provides management and funding in the turnaround of mining operations; Semarang provides human and capital resources in early-stage mining ventures
Date and Place of Birth: September 3, 1955, Cairo, Egypt
Education: BCom, UNSW; MBA, AGSM
First Job: Chartered accountant, PriceWaterhouse
Size of First Pay Packet: Too small and too long ago to remember
Value of Assets under Your Control: In the mining sphere, organisations that I founded or cofounded in the past decade have a market capitalisation of about $250-million, if market cap includes the acquisition cost of private companies
Number of People under Your Leadership: 50 at KEFI but the number will increase to 500 over the next 12 months, 500 at IMP and five at Semarang
Management Style: Loose-tight, but I always keep a close eye either directly or through colleagues who think like owners
Personal Best Achievement: At professional level, championing about ten start-ups or turnarounds over 35 years – three were exceptionally successful, most gave an honorable return and only one was an outright failure
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My late father – he could stand on his own two feet anywhere, anytime and did so in circumstances most people never experience
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: The head of a family office whose privacy I respect, whom I worked under for half of the past 35 years in a variety of roles. I admire his high standards of integrity and focus
Person You Would Most Like to Meet: No one person holds that position for me. I certainly get a buzz when engaging with anyone who ‘has a go’, whether it is a teenager or an old person reflecting on a long life of ‘having a go’
Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: The fellow I referred to above for a combination of business success and life balance
Philosophy of Life: Treat others as you would expect to be treated
Biggest Ever Opportunity: Importing into Australia in the 1980s a new business model for natural resources investment, turning our investment vehicle from $12-million market capitalisation to $500-million in three years
Biggest Ever Disappointment: Starting up a coal mine in 2003 which quickly set production records, only to have to issue the instruction to bury it for a few years – to snuff out a fire that had broken out. I am proud of our discipline to avoid any injuries but the commercial failure was gut-wrenching and financially damaging
Hope for the Future: That I continue to enjoy my family and friends, make money and have fun
Favourite Reading: Different editions of Marcus Aurelius and the Art of War
Favourite TV Programme: Live sport
Favourite Food/Drink: I like variety
Favourite Music: Van Morrison
Favourite Sport: Football
Hobbies: Family, travel, contemplation
Car: I have a few reliable old cars sitting around most of the time; they are just to transport me and wait for me to visit every month or three
Pets: Dogs, looked after by others most of the time
Miscellaneous Dislikes: Short sightedness; playing the man, not the ball
Married: To a lady who has been my only love for 40 years – she values her privacy
Children: A 35-year-old son in Orange, Australia, and Cyprus; a 33-year-old daughter in New York; a 25-year-old daughter in Addis Ababa; and a 23-year-old daughter in Sydney
Clubs: I have not kept up club memberships as I move around too much