Meet The Team

Get To Know The Team

Kingsley Allen

Kingsley Allen has over fifteen years’ experience in the mining industry, including operating a successful medium-scale alluvial gold mine in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea and working alongside government bodies developing and implementing community-based mining projects in Papua New Guinea. He also has twenty-five years active experience in company administration and capital raising via investment syndicates, investment trusts, corporate floats, reverse mergers and acquisitions, share and bond issues and superannuation. Professionally, he studied valuation and has completed numerous small- to medium-scale property development projects specialising in subdivisions, involving complex town-planning law. He is a passionate about gold mining production and has a proven track record of seeing projects through to completion. Kingsley has a special personal interest in providing his time and expertise to contribute in the development of projects that benefit disadvantaged sections of communities in Australia and overseas.

Marcus Grubb, former Director of the World Gold Council, is a senior leader in gold, finance, capital markets and digital with a 30-year track record. At the WGC and the World Platinum Investment Council he led investment and product strategy—co-managing the US$60bn SPDR GLD ETF, BullionVault, and gold investment programs in China and India. He later served as Global Head of Product at State Street Digital, setting global product strategy and delivery, and previously was CEO of BlockEx, a digital asset exchange/custody platform. Earlier, he founded Swapstream—an interest-rate derivatives exchange sold to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange—held board-level and leadership roles at Rabobank (Global Equities) and BGB (head of equity derivatives), led investment-strategy research at Swiss Bank Corporation, Salomon Brothers and UBS, and began his career at JPMorgan in Eurobonds, swaps and equities. He holds a B.A. in Modern History and Economics from Oxford University.

Marcus Grubb

Ian Hodkingson

Ian Hodkinson is a senior geologist and mining executive with 40+ years’ experience spanning exploration, development and operations across Australia and Africa. A first-class dual Honours graduate in Geology & Geography from London University with an MSc in Mineral Exploration & Mining Geology (Leicester), he began in large copper–nickel mines in Botswana before holding senior roles at Mt Leyshon (Au–Ag), Eloise (Cu) and Mungana/King Vol (Zn–Pb–Cu–Au) in Queensland, and building deep narrow-vein gold expertise at Hadleigh Castle in Charters Towers. He has managed multi-million-dollar exploration programs, consulted independently, and co-authored papers in mineralogy and economic geology. A Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Registered Professional Geoscientist, Ian is a JORC Competent Person across precious and base metals, uranium, rare earths, tin and tungsten. An early adopter of innovative methods—including biogeochemical sampling of spinifex in the Tanami—he brings proven technical leadership and modern narrow-vein mining know-how to advance Great Eastern Gold’s operations.

Paul is a highly experienced and well-regarded air leg miner. His qualifications include Surveying I and II, Geology I and II from the DDIAE in Toowoomba (now QU), Mine Safety and Management (S I, II, III) and BSB30107 Certificate in Business. Paul’s background in mining includes exploration, mine design and construction, shaft sinking and refurbishment, underground development and production, in both small- and large-scale underground mining at various locations throughout Queensland. As well as his successful exploration experience, he has a proven track record in underground operations at Charters Towers, Gympie, Mt Isa, Cloncurry and other remote mining operations.

Paul Beattie

Adam Todd

Adam Todd is an experienced geologist with a strong background in underground mining, resource interpretation, and JORC-compliant geological practices. He began his career with Northern Star Resources, where he gained hands-on exposure to all facets of mine site operations through their graduate program. He has since worked with major producers like Gold Fields Limited, advancing his expertise in production geology, stope design, and block modelling. Adam has led teams underground, managed drill rigs, and made real-time geological decisions to optimise ore definition. He is proficient in Datamine, Leapfrog, and Acquire, integrating technical data to support effective mine planning and grade control. His work reflects a practical, operations-focused approach grounded in both geological knowledge and on-site leadership.

Louis Van Der Merwe is a highly accomplished mining professional with decades of international experience across operational management, government regulation, and consulting. Originally from South Africa and now based in Australia, Louis has held senior leadership roles including Area Shaft Manager at BHP’s Olympic Dam, where he oversaw major shaft design and construction projects in partnership with EPCM teams. His career also includes serving as an Inspector of Mines with the Queensland Government and founding his own consulting company in 2003, which continues to advise small-to-medium mining enterprises. Recognised for his expertise in mine development planning, shaft sinking, tunnelling, and cost analysis, Louis has built enduring partnerships with leading engineering and mining firms. His evaluations and strategic insights are widely respected, with recent engagements including site inspections for Great Eastern Gold, where his assessments reinforced the company’s potential to build a multi-billion-dollar mining enterprise.

Louis Van Der Merwe

Brian Hemsworth

Brian Hemsworth is a seasoned mining entrepreneur and engineer whose four-decade career spans design engineering, heavy-equipment manufacturing, shaft systems and underground mining solutions. A Sydney Technical College graduate, he founded Australian Winch & Haulage (1974) and built it into a leading provider of winches, winders and heavy-engineering services to the mining, marine and construction sectors. He later launched Geocast Constructions (1997), creator of a patented laser-guided vertical excavation system, and Mine & Tunnel Constructions (2001), which supplies custom underground equipment and flexible leasing/finance packages. Known for astute capital moves, such as acquiring and recommissioning one of Australia’s largest lathes, Brian consistently expands capability to meet complex mining requirements. His teams of mechanical, electrical and design specialists deliver design, manufacture, commissioning and maintenance to rigorous safety and QA standards. He continues to identify new opportunities and partner with operators, including Great Eastern Gold, to solve technical challenges and enable production growth.

Ezra spent over twenty years in a major Wall Street firm in trading, sales and as Managing Director in the Capital Markets Division. He subsequently performed various consultancy roles for international companies.

Ezra Hakkak

Larry Jeddeloh

Larry founded TIS Group in 1995. Previously, he held the position of Chief Investment Officer of Resource Capital Advisers. Prior to joining Resource, he was with the Union Bank of Switzerland in Zürich, where he was a Vice-Director and the Chief Investment Strategist in the Institutional Global Asset Management Group. In the 1980s, he was Director of Equity Research at the Leuthold Group, a well-known institutional research firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for seven years. He was also a partner of Leuthold and Anderson Investment Management Counselling and Weeden & Company, an institutional brokerage firm. He is one of America’s best respected independent investment management professionals and regularly appears on Bloomberg and other TV business news channels.