Experience across the value chain.
We value ethics, transparency, accountability, mutual respect, promotion from within the firm and teamwork, ahead of individual performance. We are proud of our team and the way our collective strengths are greater than the sum of their parts.
We are supported by a dedicated, experienced operational team and robust infrastructure which, taken together, provides a sustainable platform to help us deliver growth for the Fund’s investors and for the companies in which the Fund invests.
Karim worked closely with Mr Sawiris for over 20 years, initially in telecoms, then as a fund manager and finally by joining La Mancha in 2018 as CFO, becoming CEO in 2019.
From 2011 to 2017, Karim was CEO of Digital World Capital LLP, an alternative asset manager specialising in TMT. At DWC Karim managed the Cross Comms fund, long/short equity & credit investing in Telecom & Media securities, and advised clients on special situation investments.
From 2001 to 2011, Karim was a member of the Executive and Investment Committees of Wind Telecom and Orascom Telecom, where he was in charge of Corporate Finance. During this tenure, he raised US$68bn in debt and equity and closed US$67bn in M&A transactions. In particular, Karim led the 2011 US$25bn merger with VEON, was one of the two executives responsible for the 2005 US$17bn Wind Telecom Leveraged Buy-Out and managed the 2009 EUR3.8bn debt restructuring of Wind Hellas in Greece. Karim joined Orascom Telecom in 2000, working on the acquisition of greenfield mobile licenses.
From 1995 to 1999, Karim was CEO of a Lebanese IT firm. He started his career in 1994 as a financial analyst in a Lebanese media group.
Karim currently serves on the Boards of G Mining and Elemental Altus Royalties. He holds a Master’s in Management from the University of Paris IX.
He is fluent in English, Arabic, and French.
Vincent is a seasoned executive, with 30 years of corporate finance, business development and M&A experience in the mining, telecom, and energy sectors.
Vincent began working with Mr Sawiris in 2012 when he identified the opportunity to buy La Mancha and joined the company as Head of Strategy & Business Development. Between 2013 and 2015, he led La Mancha’s portfolio restructuring and contributed to the enhancement of its mines’ performance in Australia and Africa. Vincent identified and executed the combinations with Evolution and Endeavour, which positioned La Mancha as a leading private investor in the gold mining sector. From 2016 to 2019, Vincent was CFO and EVP of Corporate Development at Endeavour where he reshaped the strategy, improved the mine portfolio quality, and enhanced the balance sheet to fund organic growth. Endeavour’s market capitalization was quadrupled by the time he left at the end of 2019. In early 2020, he re-joined La Mancha to oversee investments and fundraising.
Previously, Vincent was at Orange (2006-2012) where he served as EVP M&A. He led the development of the group’s footprint in Africa and Europe and formed strategic partnerships with key European telecom players. Prior to this, Vincent held various finance positions including with Orano (ex-Areva), Bull Information Systems and PwC.
Vincent holds an MSc from Kedge Business School and is a Chartered Accountant.
Prior to joining La Mancha, Graham was Chief Operating Officer at Golden Star Resources Limited, he was also a Director of Golden Star Wassa Limited and previously a non-executive director of Golden Star Resources.
Prior to this, he was General Manager of Mining for Barminco Limited, an internationally renowned underground mining services provider with accountability for Operations in Australia, Egypt and India.
From 2010 to 2015 he was Operations Manager for La Mancha Resources Australia with accountability for the Frog’s Leg Underground Mine, White Foil Open Pit Mine and the Mungari Processing facility. These operations were significantly expanded from 2012 to 2015 following the acquisition of La Mancha Resources by Naguib Sawiris and were eventually sold to Evolution Mining underpinning La Mancha’s investment in the company.
He began his career with Western Mining Corporation at Olympic Dam and Leinster Nickel Operations and has worked extensively in Australia, Africa and Asia.
He holds and B.Eng (Mining Engineering) from the West Australian School of Mines (WASM) and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Corporate Directors (AICD) and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy (AusIMM).
Michael is a corporate lawyer with expertise in M&A, capital markets and litigation, gained across EMEA, the US and Australia. He has been involved in M&A transactions totalling over $16bn, debt and equity capital raises totalling over $9bn, and numerous disputes from inception through to resolution.
Michael joined La Mancha as General Counsel in 2021 to support its investment team to negotiate, structure, and execute investments and divestments. Michael is also responsible for overseeing the group’s legal, regulatory and governance activities.
Prior to joining La Mancha, Michael was a lead in-house deal lawyer at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, one of the world’s largest energy and infrastructure investors. Prior to ADNOC, Michael was a corporate lawyer at Latham & Watkins and then WilmerHale in New York City specializing in M&A and capital markets transactions. Prior to New York, Michael worked as a commercial litigator at a leading Australian law firm, Minter Ellison, in Sydney.
Michael was admitted as a legal practitioner in Queensland, Australia in 2005 and as an attorney-at-law in New York, the USA in 2010.
He holds a Master of Laws with Distinction from The Australian National University, where he graduated first in his class, and bachelor’s degrees in Arts, Business and Law.
Matthew is a corporate lawyer with particular expertise in equity and debt capital markets transactions, sanctions and M&A. He has been involved in complex corporate and sovereign fundraising across the emerging markets, including Russia, Central Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Matthew joined La Mancha as VP – Senior Legal in 2024 to support its investment team to negotiate, structure and execute investment, divestment and financing transactions.
Before joining La Mancha, Matthew practised as a Senior Associate in the corporate teams of Latham & Watkins in London and Cleary Gottlieb in London, Moscow and Paris, advising clients in English, Russian and French.
Matthew was admitted as solicitor in England & Wales in 2014. He holds a first-class honours degree (LLB/M1) in English and French Law from King’s College London and Université Paris I – Panthéon -Sorbonne. He has also completed the Osgoode Certificate in Mining Law.
Naomi is an Australian qualified lawyer with nine years’ post admission experience, specialising in litigation and dispute resolution.
Naomi joined La Mancha in 2024 as Special Counsel to support the group’s legal activities.
Prior to joining La Mancha, Naomi was practising as a tax controversy lawyer at a leading Australian law firm, MinterEllison, in Sydney. Prior to that, Naomi practised as a lawyer in the litigation team at the Australia Taxation Office.
Naomi was admitted as a legal practitioner in New South Wales, Australia, in 2013. She holds a Master of Laws with Distinction from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from Bond University.
Ben has 6 years of experience in metals and mining. He joined La Mancha in 2020 and is primarily involved in reviewing new investment opportunities, supporting diligence processes, and building financial models and valuations. Ben also supports the ongoing assessment of La Mancha’s existing investments and portfolio companies’ development projects.
Prior to joining La Mancha, Ben worked as an investment analyst for the private equity group CD Capital. He was responsible for reviewing new opportunities, diligence processes, valuations and financial modelling across a range of commodities including, gold, copper and PGM’s. Ben’s role also involved continuing assessment of CD Capital’s portfolio of development stage projects across the Americas, Europe and Africa.
Ben previously worked as a base and precious metals broker for a market-making member of the London Metal Exchange, and also successfully ran an LME warrant trading book. Ben has also spent time working for MRI trading, a leading swiss based metals concentrate trader.
Ben holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Newcastle and a Master’s in Metals and Energy Finance from Imperial College London.
Jack has 14 years of Geology and mining experience. He joined La Mancha in January 2021 and is responsible for assessing Geology and Mineral Resource Models.
Prior to La Mancha, Jack was a Consultant Geologist for SLR Consulting (formerly RPA), where he performed countless due diligence reviews and audits on various projects across the world, and generated NI 43-101 compliant Mineral Resources and Technical Reports for several clients.
Jack has previously worked for Micromine, a major Geological Software company, developing in-depth knowledge of advanced resource modelling. Jack’s resource skills are backed by solid geological exploration experience across Africa, the Middle East, and Australia, working for world-class mining companies such as Barrick Gold Corporation.
Jack is an expert in manipulating geological models and has recently obtained a Citation in Geostatistics from the University of Alberta.
Jack holds a Master of Geology (MGeol) degree from the University of Southampton, UK, and is a Chartered Geologist (CGeol) with the Geological Society of London, as well as a registered professional geologist (EurGeol) with the European Federation of Geologists.
Emma has 8 years of experience in metals and mining. She joined La Mancha in 2022 and is involved in reviewing investment opportunities, due diligence processes, building financial models and valuations, and ongoing management of the existing investment portfolio.
Prior to joining La Mancha, Emma worked within Société Générale’s metals & mining team based successively in Paris, Toronto, Hong Kong and London. She has had strong exposure globally to projects, acquisitions and other hybrid financings. She covered precious, base and battery metals, as well as diamonds.
Emma holds a Master’s in Finance, a Master’s in Business Management and a French law degree from Grenoble Graduate School of business.
Emma is fluent in French, English and Spanish.
Joseph joined La Mancha in 2022 and has four years of experience in the metals and mining sector. He is primarily involved in reviewing new investment opportunities, supporting diligence processes, and building financial models and valuations. Joseph also supports the ongoing assessment of La Mancha’s existing investments and portfolio companies’ development projects.
Prior to joining La Mancha, Joseph worked as an Equity Research Associate for BMO Capital Markets, within its top-ranked global metal and mining, research team. During his time at BMO Joseph’s coverage had a geographical emphasis on Africa, but included a range of commodities, including gold, PGMs and diamonds.
Joseph is a Mining Engineering graduate of the Camborne School of Mines and holds a Master’s in Metals and Energy Finance from Imperial College London.
Michał is responsible for the construction and development of La Mancha’s database systems in support of investment, and middle and back office activities. He worked closely with Karim for 4 years at Digital World Capital.
Prior to La Mancha, Michał was Technology Manager at PwC, where he assisted international banking clients in cloud migration processes. From 2014 to 2018, Michał was Chief Technology Officer at Digital World Capital designing and implementing a suite of front-to-back office systems to support investment, risk management and back-office activities.
Prior to DWC, Michał was a Senior Analyst Programmer at Citigroup in Dublin. Previously he held similar roles developing software for financial services clients such as CITCO Fund Services and Bank of Ireland.
Michał has a Master’s in Computer Engineering from the Koszalin University of Technology and is fluent in Polish and English.
Ryan joined La Mancha in 2022 and has over 7 years of experience in Alternative Investments. He is primarily responsible for fund treasury and middle office. Ryan also oversees the Fund’s NAV and operations.
Prior to joining La Mancha, Ryan worked as VP for J.P. Morgan, within its middle office and fund services team. Prior to J.P. Morgan, Ryan was a Fund Controller responsible for a EUR 15 billion buyout fund and two venture capital funds at private equity group EQT Group.
Ryan holds an honours degree in Finance and Accounting from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.
Iryna has over 9 years of finance and administration experience. She joined La Mancha in 2020 and is involved with the day-to-day booking of cash movements, assisting with the month closing processes, accounts payable/receivable, bank reconciliation and other daily administrative tasks.
Prior to La Mancha, Iryna worked in Job Today as a Financial and Administrative Assistant where she was responsible for following up on the aged debtors, day-to-day bookkeeping and supporting month-end processes. Prior to Job Today, Iryna held a variety of roles including office management, data analytics and PR.
Iryna has a degree in Applied Statistics in Economy from Dnipropetrovsk State University and is fluent in English, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and French.
Caomhán has over 7 years of auditing and assurance experience. He joined La Mancha in 2022 and is involved with the budget management, day to day booking of cash movements, assisting with the month closing processes, accounts payable/receivable, bank reconciliation and consolidations.
Prior to La Mancha, Caomhán worked in Deloitte Luxembourg for 6 years as a manager in financial auditing where he was responsible for auditing a wide range UCITs, SPVs, Private Equity funds and management companies.
Caomhán has a degree in Commerce Accounting International experience from National University of Ireland, Galway and is fluent in Irish and English.
Salma brings two years of experience in the Alternative Funds Industry to her role at La Mancha, where she joined the team in 2023. As part of her responsibilities, managing accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger books, and NAV reporting, ensuring accurate and timely financial operations.
Prior to joining La Mancha, Salma worked at Langham Hall Luxembourg, where she provided accounting, administration, and legal services to clients across Europe.
Salma holds a double Master’s degree in Wealth Management from Brest Business School in France, further complementing her educational background in Accounting and Finance from ENCG-J in Morocco and is fluent in English, French and Arabic.
Paulina has over 15 years of administrative and legal experience. She joined La Mancha in 2022 to support the team with various administrative tasks. She works with the legal team focusing on governance and compliance matters.
Before La Mancha, Paulina worked in back office teams at Linklaters and UnitedLex and gained hospitality experience in various London hotels. In Poland, she served as an Office Manager and Paralegal.
Paulina graduated from Silesian University in Poland with a Master of Laws in 2012.
She is fluent in Polish and English.
Josipa joined La Mancha in 2022 as an Administrative Assistant and is involved in all daily office management duties including booking travel, managing office suppliers and assisting both the front house and back office.
Josipa previously worked as an office manager in a land surveying company, where she supported senior managers and gained administrative skills and experience.
Josipa enjoys being active and has a strong background in swimming, winning multiple medals and trophies.
Josipa has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from J.J Strossmayer University in Osijek, Croatia and speaks fluent Croatian and English.