TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug 4, 2015) - Continental Gold Inc. (CNL.TO)(CGOOF) ("Continental" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mateo Restrepo Villegas as Executive Vice-President, effective August 12, 2015. He will be based in the Company's office in Medellín, Colombia.
Mr. Restrepo has extensive Colombian experience in mining, infrastructure, banking and government relations. Most recently, Mr. Restrepo was Vice-President of Corporate Affairs at Prodeco Group (a Glencore subsidiary), Colombia's third largest thermal coal producer, where he was responsible for managing the company's key relationships with the Colombian government, non-government organizations, and national and local stakeholders proximal to its operations. He was also Director of the Colombian Office of Grupo Salinas - Banco Azteca of Mexico, where he played a pivotal role in the process of licensing and setting up operations in Colombia.
Mr. Restrepo has held various positions with the Colombian Government. In 2009-2010, he was the Senior Counselor to the President of Colombia on Economic Recovery, where he helped form and implement a strategic action plan totaling US$34 billion in infrastructure investments aimed at mitigating the effects of the 2008 global recession on the Colombian economy. From 2005-2008, he was an Advisor at the Presidency of Colombia, where he served as a liaison between the Presidency and the private sector, with the objective of designing government policies that encourage private investment in Colombia. In this role, Mr. Restrepo led, among other things, the renegotiation of the Port Authorities' contracts, the privatization of government-owned gold mining operations, and supported the recapitalization of various industries which represented a social and economic risk to local communities.
From 2008-2009, Mr. Restrepo was Managing Director of the Inter-American Development Bank's (IBD) 50th Annual Meeting 2009, where he represented the Government of Colombia and successfully coordinated the most important economic event in Latin America with over 6,000 attendees representing 48 member countries.
Born in Medellín, Colombia, Mr. Restrepo holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Berkeley College.
"I would like to personally welcome Mateo to the Continental team," commented Ari Sussman, President and CEO. "Mateo's background in the Colombian mining sector combined with his business acumen and understanding of the Colombian culture and business practices will be invaluable assets to the Company. We are approaching an extremely critical juncture in the Company's stage of development and Mateo's appointment is a welcome addition to our management team."