Leadership

Jonathan Evans serves at the Chief Executive Officer and President of Lithium Americas Corp. Jon has more than 20 years of operations and general management experience across businesses of various sizes and industry applications. Previously, he served as Vice President and General Manager for the Lithium Division at FMC Corporation (USA), and as the Chief Operating Officer of DiversiTech Corporation, a portfolio company of the private equity group, Permira. Jon has also held executive management roles at Arysta LifeScience, AMRI Corporation and General Electric. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Clarkson University and an MSc from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Pablo Mercado serves as Executive Vice president and Chief Financial Officer of Lithium Americas Corp. Pablo has over 23 years of experience in finance and corporate development in the energy industry. Prior to joining Lithium Americas, he served as Chief Financial Officer of EnLink Midstream, LLC, and prior to that, as Chief Financial Officer of Forum Energy Technologies, Inc., both US public companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Pablo started his professional career in 1998. He was an investment banker at Bank of America, UBS and Credit Suisse, until joining Forum in 2011. Pablo holds a BBA from the Cox School of Business and a BA in Economics from the Dedman College, both of Southern Methodist University, and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Richard Gerspacher is responsible for the Company’s capital projects strategy. He has over 20 years of leadership experience in developing and executing successful projects throughout the world in a variety of sectors including industrial minerals, metals mining and power generation. Prior to joining Lithium Americas, Richard worked for Fluor Corporation, a global engineering and construction company where he served as Vice President and Projects Director for a lithium project in Australia. He also served as Chairman of Fluor’s Latin America Talent Development Team and as a member of their Global Project Management Talent Development Team. Richard holds a Professional Engineer designation, and has a Bachelor’s degree in Civil-Structural Engineering from the University of Detroit and a Master of Business Administration degree from Duke University.

Ted Grandy is the Vice President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs of Lithium Nevada. He was General Counsel of Barrick’s copper business at Barrick Gold Corporation from 2012 to 2018. He is a legal department leader with broad experience in project development and regulatory compliance. Edward holds a Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College and a J.D. from the Emory University School of Law.

Ms. Hashimoto is the Senior Vice-President, Finance and Administration for LAC.  She has over 20 years of international experience in senior finance roles in the mining industry.   Prior to joining LAC, she was CFO for Pembrook Copper Corp. and Pacific Rim Mining Corp.  She also served in increasing roles of responsibility over 13 years at Placer Dome Inc. including as Controller for the Australasian and North American mining operations and as CFO for the Global Exploration and Construction division.  Ms. Hashimoto is a CPA and holds a BA in Economics from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Aubree Barnum is the Vice President, Human Resources of LAC and is a human resources professional with over 13 years of experience in municipal and mining industry human resources leadership roles. Prior to joining LAC, Aubree served as Vice President Human Resources for Nevada Copper Corp. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Physiology from the University of Oregon and a Master of Business Administration/Human Resource Management degree from Columbia Southern University. She holds a Certified Professional (CP) designation from the Society of Human Resource Management and is a member of the National Society for Leadership and Success.

Mr. Crowley is the Principal of Crowley & Ferrato Public Affairs, having served in this role since 2014. Prior to Crowley & Ferrato Public Affairs, he was the President of the Nevada Mining Association. He sits on the Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful Board of Directors and the University of Nevada, Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering Advisory Board. Tim holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Dr. Rene LeBlanc has 15 years of experience in a variety of development and production operations as well as commercial experience in supply chain development for the energy storage industry. He joins Lithium Americas after managing efforts to develop supplies of critical materials for Tesla Inc., and after a decade on lithium production projects for FMC Corporation’s Lithium Division. Rene earned his Bachelors and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina.

Virginia (Ginny) Morgan’s professional experience of over 20 years includes roles in investor relations, ESG, sustainability reporting, external communications and global branding, most recently with Capstone Mining, Goldcorp and Avalon Rare Metals. Her work earned Capstone a nomination for Best Overall Investor Relations 2020 (Small Cap) by IR Magazine Canada, and while at Goldcorp, she contributed towards multiple CPA Canada Awards including Excellence in Corporate and Sustainability Reporting and Electronic Disclosure. She has a Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Management from Royal Roads University, a Publicity & Public Relations Certificate from the University of Toronto and completed Business Sustainability Management from the University of Cambridge.

Alexi Zawadzki has over 20 years of experience developing mining and energy projects in roles of increasing responsibility. Following 10 years working for an international engineering consultancy, in 2007 he founded a publicly traded renewable energy company resulting in the construction and operation of two hydroelectric facilities. Since 2014, he has been focused on the lithium sector as an enabler of renewable energy technologies. Alexi trained as a hydrologist and holds a Masters degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.