This elite group, comprised of experts in the field, personally nominates all invitees and develops the Agenda, which forms the basis of our discussions.
Forum Overview
Dates: September 9 - 11, 2025
Location: Toronto, ON
The Forum’s Steering Committee welcomes a select group of up to 40 elite-level HR leaders personally selected from companies in the global mining explorations, operation and engineering industries to meet and discuss the most current and pressing strategic HR matters relevant to their industry.
Using candid, seminar-style discussion, the group examines trends and developments in every jurisdiction for meaningful dialogue on the most pressing issues facing HR today.
2025 Steering Committee
Committee Co-Chairs
Emilie C. Schouten was named Senior Vice President, Human Resources in May 2019. She joined Coeur in 2013 as the Director of Talent Acquisition and Development. She was one of the first hired when Coeur moved the headquarters to Chicago and therefore, was instrumental in hiring the new team and implementing the performance management system for the Company. Ms. Schouten has 18 years in Human Resources, starting her career in General Electric, where graduated from GE’s Human Resources Leadership Program. After 6 years as an HR Manager with GE, her division was acquired by the world’s largest electrical distribution company, Rexel, and Ms. Schouten went on to become the Director of Training and Development. Ms. Schouten has her B.A. in Sociology from Michigan State University and her M.S. in Industrial Labour Relations from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Committee Members
As Vice President People for Rio Tinto Aluminum, Amra leads a global human resources team responsible for development and implementation of human resources strategy in support of business objectives and long-term goals. She is also a member of Rio Tinto People Senior Leadership team and Rio Tinto Leadership Team.
Since joining Rio Tinto, Amra has held various senior leadership roles within different commodities, functions and countries. She brings people-centric and value-oriented approach to business agenda shaped through her international and multi-industry experience.
Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Amra is American citizen and permanent resident of
Canada. She also lived and worked in Germany and United Kingdom.
Amra is driven by opportunities to create a positive impact to organizations through people agenda, building high performing teams and workplace where people can be truly themselves.
Todd Graver is Vice President-Operations Human Resources at Freeport-McMoRan Inc. He has been with the company for more than 25 years, having started his career at the company’s New Orleans office where he provided human resources operational support to the company’s various properties. In 2006, he relocated to PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan where he served as Manager-Corporate Planning and Integration with oversight of privatized companies and expat administration. In 2010, he moved to Phoenix to serve as Director-Human Resource Business Partner and was named Vice President-Operations Human Resources in 2011. His current respons1bilit1es include oversight of operational HR activ1t1es, site support, employee and labor relations, and training and development. Mr. Graver holds a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Nicholls State University in Louisiana. He has been married to his wife Merialee for 23 years. They have three children who attend Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University and Northwest Christian High School.
Stephanie Shaw joined Eldorado Gold in August 2024 as Vice President, Human Resources. Stephanie leads the HR function, shaping the company's people strategy and fostering a positive organizational culture that attracts, retains, and develops top talent.
She is responsible for Global Total Rewards, Organization Effectiveness and Analytics, Corporate HR, Global Training & Development, as well as providing strategic direction, operational oversight, and innovative solutions to drive business success.
Stephanie brings to this role over 18 years of progressive operations and corporate HR experience, including leading large multi-site and multi-country teams. Prior to joining Eldorado, Stephanie spent the past 12 years with Teck Resources in a variety of HR leadership roles including four years in Chile where she created a blueprint to enable rapid growth. Stephanie has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from McGill University.
Stephanie is originally from Montréal, but mostly grew up in Vancouver. She loves to travel, play and follow sports, keep up on pop culture, and spend time with her family (husband and 2 daughters).
Forum Director
Varugis is the President of Cambridge Executive Connections (CEC), a subsidiary of Cambridge Forums Inc. Since 2003, Varugis has held sales, production and management roles at three global conference and business information providers. Prior to joining Cambridge Forums in 2015, he was the Director of Conference Development at Insight Information, the Canadian subsidiary of ALM Media, LLC. In 2019, CEC was established as a specialised provider of sophisticated learning and networking experiences for private clients, family offices, institutional investors, and corporate leaders. Along with the flagship Forums, CEC builds Communities for members to engage and develop meaningful connections with their peers globally. As President, Varugis is responsible for the overall strategy, growth, and delivery of all services under the CEC banner.
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