About us

Ana Cristina Cabral has over 20 years of experience as a senior banker at global investment banks in New York, London and São Paulo. Ms. Cabral is a former Head of Lat. Am. Capital Markets at Goldman Sachs in New York and a former Managing Director at the firm. Ms. Cabral has been involved in a large number of transactions over her career, totaling more than US$100 billion, five of which won the prestigious IFR “Deal of the Year” award, including the privatization of Vale in 1996 and the acquisition of Inco by Vale in 2006. Ms. Cabral has an MBA degree from Columbia Business School and a Master in Finance degree from London Business School. Ms. Cabral serves on the Advisory Board of Columbia University Global Centers and is a CCEC board member of The American School of São Paulo.

With a career spanning 33 years, Caio Araújo started at PwC as an auditor and advising companies in the global capital market. He was the controller of the CSN Group for more than 12 years, having worked in M&As and in the IPO of CSN Mineração S.A. Before joining Sigma in June of this year, Caio was director of controllership and treasury at V.tal Rede Neutra de Telecomunicações S.A. Caio is a graduate in business administration and accounting sciences and holds an MBA in Production Engineering from Escola Politécnica da USP and an MBA in Corporate Finance and Investment Banking from Fundação Instituto de Administração-FIA.

Matthew DeYoe joined the Company as Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs and Strategic Development on October 26, 2023, based in the United States. Prior this, Mr. Deyoe was the leading coverage research director for lithium and chemical companies over the past four years for Bank of America and has also held positions on the buy-side at hedge funds where he specialized in chemical, lithium, and energy investments. Mr. Deyoe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Georgetown University and is a CFA charterholder.

Paula joined Sigma Lithium in August 2023 as Legal Director. Paula has over 17 years experience as a corporate lawyer and built her career as an M&A and private equity lawyer in top ranked local and foreign lawfirms. Before joining Sigma, Paula acted as legal executive in large corporations, managing multidisciplinary teams and complex corporate governance structures. Paula has also held positions as a legal executive abroad, having worked in New York, Houston and Mexico City.

Daniel is Investor Relations Director at Sigma Lithium. He was previously a Senior Advisor for the Turnaround & Transformation and Corporate Finance & Strategy practice areas of the Boston Consulting Group. Prior to that, he was Head of Investments of RK Partners and an investment officer at Angra Infra.

Daniel also held investment banking positions at Goldman Sachs in Sao Paulo and with JP Morgan in London. He holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University

Ligia has over 20 years of experience as a Senior Consultant, Professor and Researcher at Fundação Getulio Vargas on Human Rights and Business, Corporate Strategic Planning and Corporate Governance practices in accordance with ESG performance standards.

She holds a PhD in Business Law and Corporate Governance from University of São Paulo, having done research exchange at La Sapienza-Roma and IE Business School in Madrid. In those areas, Ligia is also experienced on working in large law firms.

Forerunner – in Brazil – of the creation of metrics and diagnostic evaluation surveys for the implementation of corporate policies focused on human rights, ethical standards of performance, innovation and diverse collective intelligence.

She has experience in institutional relations and public policy through dialogue with various stakeholders, formulating interaction channels, including the various instances of Public Authority.

Ligia is a member of several boards, including FIESP, Conselho de Líderes da CNI, Energy Transition Committee of CDESS, Global Compact UN, Women’s Entrepreneurship Committee (Ministry of Economy), Ambassador of Zumbi dos Palmares College and at Grupo Mulheres do Brazil.

In that last institution, which engages more than 120,000 women, she is Director of Institutional and Government Relations since its conception.

Keith Prentice is a seasoned leader in mine development and construction, with significant experience in Africa and internationally. Keith was formerly the Director of Processing at Sigma Lithium, where he most recently co-led the operational ramp-up of the Greentech Plant. Prior to joining Sigma Lithium, Keith served in leadership roles at Sierra Rutile Limited and Okavango Mining Engineering, where he developed and implemented major capital projects, managed project risk and mitigation, and worked alongside executive management on forecasting and reporting. Keith’s experience also includes roles as General Manager of Business Development at ELB/PBA Engineering and Departmental Head of Process at Kenmare Resources Plc. Earlier in his career, Keith spearheaded mining projects across Africa, and held various managerial positions at De Beers. Keith holds a degree in Extraction Metallurgy from the School of Mines at the University of Johannesburg and a Production Management Diploma from Technikon RSA.

Reinaldo Brandão is a senior mining executive with over 30 years of industry experience in complex mine systems operation from pit to port in global companies of mining and metallurgy. He holds a degree in Filtration Dry Stacking of Iron Ore Tailings from USP – Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo. Reinaldo has extensive experience in greenfield projects involving R&D and implementation, as well as operations with a focus on sustainability and ESG. Prior to joining Sigma Lithium, Reinaldo was a senior mining and metallurgy consultant at Norsk Hydro, as well as COO of Iron Ore at Anglo American Brazil, and COO and Mining Managing Director (CEO) of Vallourec & Sumitomo Brazil. Reinaldo began his career in mining leadership at Vale, where he held roles including Mining Automation Manager, Mine Operations Coordinator, and various engineering positions.

Reinaldo has a PhD in mine planning from Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto and He also received an MS in Engineering and a Bachelors in Mining Engineering from Escola De Minas.

Iran Zan is a geologist with over 12 years of professional experience in mining. Throughout his career, his work has included exploration and operational geology as well as administrative management in the pre-construction, implementation, and pre-operation phases of lithium and heavy minerals mines. Iran has held senior positions as Director of Community Relations and Institutions and Senior Exploration Geologist at Sigma Lithium over the past seven years. Previously, Iran was a Full Exploration Geologist at Mineração Taboca S.A. and Yamana Gold Inc. Iran holds a bachelor’s degree in Geology and Geosciences from the Universidade Estadual de Campina

Fádwa Andrade holds a degree in Social Communication, a postgraduate degree in Business Management from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica of Minas Gerais and an Master Business Administration from the renowned Fundação Getúlio Vargas, in addition to being a specialist in the global agenda of Human Rights. With more than 20 years of experience in the mining sector, she has worked as a Senior Executive of Sustainability, Communications and Human Rights at companies such as Vale, Kinross Gold Corporation, AngloGold Ashanti and Norsk Hydro.