Ian Pearce, was appointed Chief Executive of Xstrata Nickel following the acquisition of Falconbridge in August 2006. Mr Pearce has worked for more than 27 years in the metallurgy and mining field. He joined Falconbridge in 2003 where he spearheaded the advancement of major growth initiatives as Senior Vice-President of Projects, before being appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2006. Previously, Mr Pearce worked on Canadian oil sands projects as well as metallurgical and mining projects for Fluor in Canada, Indonesia, Chile and South Africa. He holds an engineering HND in mineral processing and a BSc from the University of Witwatersrand. Mr Pearce sits on the Board of Directors of the Mining Association of Canada and the Nickel Institute, and is on the Advisory Board of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100.