We invited expert speakers to provide insight into the potential for platinum use in major applications, including the potential switch back to platinum from palladium in autocatalysts, platinum’s evolving role in heavy-duty vehicles, proactive initiatives by producers to boost platinum demand including fuel cells, reworking platinum’s jewellery image to appeal to new customers worldwide, and how specialised methods from the aerospace industry are being used for the casting of premium platinum jewellery. 

Our guest speakers

Dr Matthias Dohrn, Senior Vice President,
Global Precious and Base Metal Services, BASF

As Senior Vice President, Global Precious and Base Metal Services, Matthias is responsible for overseeing BASF’s global base and precious metals trading, sales and refining, as well as leading the company’s Catalysts' global refining, salts and solutions business. Since joining BASF in 2004, he has held various roles of increasing responsibility across the company’s organisations in both Germany and South Africa. He holds a PhD. in Finance and Economics from the University of Hanover (Germany).

Benny Oeyen, Executive Head of Market Development,
Anglo American

Benny joined Anglo American in November 2017 as Executive Head of Market Development in the Platinum Group Metals Team based in London, UK, where he leads the formulation and execution of the strategy to optimise the future growth of the market for PGMs, particularly platinum. From 1996 to 2017, Benny held key and senior product planning, strategy and marketing positions in automotive companies in various countries around the world. A global citizen with a Belgian passport, Benny was born and grew up in Germany and graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) with a degree in Economics.

Alex Woodrow, Managing Director, Knibb, Gormezano and Partners

Alex joined Knibb, Gormezano and Partners (KGP) immediately after graduating in Manufacturing Engineering and Economics from the University of Birmingham in 1994, working his way up to become Managing Director in 2010. During his 24 years at KGP, he has worked on hundreds of projects related to materials and powertrain trends in the global automotive industry. He currently focuses on the Commercial Vehicle, Non-Road Mobile Machinery segment and the evolution of greenhouse gases, emissions, electrification and aftertreatment. He gained an MSc from Loughborough University in Automotive Systems Engineering in 2008.

Tim Schlick, Chief Strategy Officer, Platinum Guild International

As PGI’s Chief Strategy Officer, Tim is tasked with shaping the organisation’s global strategy and helping its core markets to unlock growth opportunities for platinum jewellery. Tim is a renowned business strategist and marketing expert and has advised more than 30 Fortune 500 companies on how to create growth through brands and products. He is a regular keynote speaker at events on topics such as market entry and growth strategies, marketing success in the digital age and consumer opportunities in Asia. 

Teresa Frye, Owner and President, TechForm Advanced Casting Technology

Teresa Frye is the owner and President of TechForm Advanced Casting Technology. In the early 1990s the company introduced high-temperature casting methods from the aerospace industry to platinum manufacturing. A leading expert on shell casting methods and a prolific researcher, she has published technical papers and articles worldwide and has presented her research at numerous venues across the globe. TechForm Advanced Casting Technology provides platinum castings to a broad customer base, including most of the top jewellery brands in the US. To further the sharing of technical information, in 2008 she founded the Portland Jewelry Symposium, an annual educational conference that specifically serves the educational needs of manufacturing jewellery retailers.

Beresford Clarke, Managing Director and Head of Research, SFA (Oxford)

Beresford’s principal remit is to service SFA (Oxford)'s wide range of clients worldwide. He has responsibility for the analyst team, product delivery and innovation, and is the lead research author. Beresford has been a metals market analyst for 16 years, covering platinum-group metals on a daily basis on behalf of clients, but also providing in-depth analysis on the lithium, cobalt, gold and other commodity markets.