Mineral exploration company Lithium Africa has proposed the nomination of John Kanellitsas and Ernie Ortiz as directors, ahead of the company’s upcoming AGM to be held on August 21.

The company has also announced that Robert Eckford will not stand for re-election at the AGM, while Tyron Breytenbach, who stepped down from the board on July 1, will continue to support Lithium Africa as a capital markets adviser.

Kanellitsas is mining and mineral resource company Lithium Argentina chairperson.

He has more than 30 years of experience in the investment banking and asset management industries, including a period when he was US-based institutional investment firm Geologic Resource Partners co-founder and COO from 2004 to 2014.

Earlier in his career, Kanellitsas held positions with investment firm Sun Valley Gold and Morgan Stanley in New York and San Francisco. He has served on several public and private company boards, including lithium-focused royalty company Lithium Royalty Corp and vanadium holding company Largo Physical Vanadium.

He holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles, in the US.

Ortiz, meanwhile, co-founded Lithium Royalty in 2018 and served as its CEO and president, building a globally diversified critical minerals royalty portfolio spanning jurisdictions such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mali, Serbia, Finland and the US.

He led the company through its initial public offering (IPO) on the TSX in March 2023, representing the only IPO completed on the TSX that year — raising C$150-million, and subsequently through its acquisition by mining and renewable energy royalty company Altius Minerals, which was completed in March this year.

Ortiz began his career as financial services company Credit Suisse basic material group equity research analyst in New York and later served as a buy-side analyst focused on lithium, battery components and specialty chemicals.

He is a founding member of the London Metal Exchange (LME) lithium and cobalt committee, serves on the board of directors of natural resources and manufacturing company Sinova Global, and is a CFA charterholder. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago in the US and is fluent in English and Spanish.

"John and Ernie are two of the most respected leaders in the lithium sector and I am thrilled to welcome them as we build Lithium Africa into a world-class exploration and consolidation platform. John has been a mentor to me since my time at Lithium Americas and Lithium Argentina, where he helped guide both companies through periods of exploration, development and extraordinary growth.

“Ernie has spent his career at the center of critical minerals capital markets, and his track record in structuring and financing lithium assets around the world is exactly the expertise that will help us deliver value for our shareholders, our host countries, and the communities where we operate," Lithium Africa CEO Dr Thomas Benson says.