The Board

Simon Longworth
Chief Executive Officer

Simon graduated with an honours degree in Philosophy and Psychology from Durham University. From 1977-1990 he served as an army officer in the UK, Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus and Zimbabwe. He subsequently worked as a business manager in the National Health Service and in Education. In 2003 Simon completed a Masters degree at Newcastle University in Chinese Language and Culture for Business. Subsequently he spent much of his time in China on behalf of Angus & Ross Plc, where he successfully negotiated and gained central government approval for their joint venture in Anhui Province. During this period Simon has developed an extensive network of contacts in Government and the mining sector in a number of different provinces.

Simon is resident in the UK and Beijing.

James Benson
Finance Director

James qualified with Ernst & Young, before moving to Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong. On returning to the UK James held senior financial positions in a number of international companies including Inchcape Plc, Allied Domecq Plc, Rolfe & Nolan Plc and latterly with FDUK Ltd. During this time he has gained extensive experience of financial management, strategic business planning, corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions and raising both debt and equity funding in both listed and unlisted companies.

James lives in Bristol.

Non Executives

Luka Lu
Non Executive Director

Luka studied law at Peking University before completing her legal training with an American law firm in Beijing. She then joined C&C Law Office, the first Chinese law firm to specialise in providing legal services, before founding her own law firm, Capital Associates.

Luka has substantial experience of providing legal advice to Western companies seeking to establish operations in China, either as a Joint Venture or as a Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise. Her clients include many multi national companies, particularly in the mining, power and banking and financial services industries. She has also assisted a number of Chinese companies seeking to list on overseas stock exchanges, particularly in Hong Kong and New York.

Luka is a member of the China International Mining Group and in 2004 was instrumental in conducting the Mining Law Review undertaken by the CIMG in conjunction with the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources.

Dr Peter McNeill
Non Executive Director

Peter McNeill, MA, DPhil, FIBC, CMC, is Principal of The London Group, an economics and management consultancy. Since 1990, a focus of the Group's activities has been rural development and policy in countries in economic transition, including the People's Republic of China, the countries of the former Soviet Union and Mongolia. Since leading one of the first international missions to Mongolia in 1992, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Peter McNeill has taken a particular interest in Mongolia and continues frequently to undertake assignments there.

His international consultancy experience includes government policy and corporate planning in a variety of sectors and commercial clients have ranged in size from major multinationals to SMEs. Peter McNeill has not held any directorships during the past five years.