American Battery Technology Company (OTCQB:ABML) (ABTC) said it has appointed Kimberly Eckert, a critical minerals and precious metals strategic financial development expert, as its new chief financial officer.
"In order to address the near insatiable demand for low-environmental impact, low-cost, and domestic US-sourced critical battery materials, we have been rapidly accelerating the commercialization of both our lithium-ion battery recycling technologies and our primary lithium and battery metal manufacturing technologies," said Ryan Melsert, CEO and chairman of ABTC in a statement.
"We have been performing a rigorous search for a CFO with the specific skill set to support this strategic acceleration, and are beyond excited to announce that Kim has joined our team to lead these strategic finance efforts.”
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Eckert has over two decades of corporate finance and strategic mineral resource development experience, working within the critical minerals and precious metals industry, across the investment banking, corporate financial management, investment management, and strategic consulting fields.
“Her unique experiences with strategic minerals resource development, financial modeling, M&A development and execution, and capital raising is the exact combination of expertise that is needed to drive the evolution of the next stage of our growth," Melsert added.
The company said David Corsaut, who has served as CFO since October 2020 through the initial growth phase of the company, will support Eckert through a transition period over the coming weeks.
Eckert’s previous roles include vice president at Deutsche Bank in Global Corporate Investment Banking of its Natural Resources Metals & Mining group and director of strategic development at Coeur Mining (NYSE:CDE), a company focused on the development of critical and precious metals throughout Nevada, South Dakota, Alaska, British Columbia, and Mexico.
She has also served as the CFO of a geothermal energy start-up, as managing consultant at Filsinger Energy Partners, and as an executive consultant for start-ups and privately owned businesses in the industrial manufacturing, engineering and construction, and e-commerce sectors.
She is an expert in corporate strategy, valuation, capital raises, and investor relations, with specific financial expertise in seed-stage start-ups within the natural resources industry.
Eckert holds a Bachelor's degree in business with specialties in finance and international business from the University of Montana, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
In her role as CFO at ABTC, she will oversee all financial responsibilities of the company including executing the strategic financial roadmaps for the development and commercialization of the company's lithium-bearing Nevada-based sedimentary resource, the company's lithium-ion battery recycling facility expansions, and the company's roadmap for the manufacturing of battery-grade nickel and cobalt products from domestic-US resources.
She will also have responsibility for corporate functions including financial planning and analysis, accounting and controls, procurement, risk management, financial performance and revenue growth, reporting and compliance, and investor relations.
Reno-based ABTC has built a clean technology platform to provide a key source of domestically manufactured critical and strategic battery metals to help meet demand from the electric vehicle, electrical grid storage, and consumer electronics industries.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com