Ero Copper announces leadership succession plan

Ero Copper (ERO) announced the next phase of its leadership succession plan, effective January 1, 2025. Co-founder and Chairman of the Board, Noel Dunn, will be retiring from the Company’s Board of Directors. David Strang, co-founder and current CEO, will assume the role of Executive Chairman, and Makko DeFilippo, President and COO, will be appointed as President and CEO and will join Ero’s Board. Gelson Batista will succeed DeFilippo as COO. This leadership transition is part of the succession plan initiated by Ero’s Board of Directors in January 2023 with Dunn’s retirement as Executive Chairman. The Board and management team are confident that this evolution will continue to position Ero for long-term success and growth. DeFilippo joined Ero in January 2017 as Vice President, Corporate Development, where he played a key role in supporting the Company through its initial public offering in October 2017. He was promoted to President in January 2021 and assumed the additional role of Chief Operating Officer in March 2023. Over his tenure, DeFilippo has been instrumental in elevating several strategic initiatives, including the transformation of the Xavantina Operations from a non-core asset into a high-margin, core asset of the Company. He led the successful negotiation and completion of the $110M streaming transaction with Royal Gold Inc. and was key in establishing the Company’s partnership with Vale Base Metals on the Furnas Copper-Gold Project earn-in agreement, announced in July. Batista joined Ero in September 2024 as Senior Vice President, Operations, bringing with him over 25 years of extensive international mining experience. Throughout his career, he has held a range of technical, operational, and senior leadership positions in mining operations and development projects worldwide. His experience includes roles at ArcelorMittal and Rio Tinto, as well as with leading engineering and technology companies in Canada and South America.