State-owned mining company Staatsmijnbouwbedrijf N.V. Grassalco of Suriname has marked a major milestone in its corporate restructuring, establishing its first multi-member executive board following key leadership appointments approved at an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders held Friday. The expansion of the executive team is a government-backed initiative designed to strengthen the firm’s operational governance and secure long-term operational continuity, according to official announcements.
Johan Seymor has been named President-Director of the firm, succeeding Natascha Kalo, who stepped into the interim role after former President-Director Wesley Rozenhout was placed on inactive leave. Two additional executive roles were filled in the new leadership structure: Berto Sampi, who previously served as President Commissioner, will take up the post of Operational Director, while Jerney Noordzee joins as Financial Director. These appointments formalize the first distributed leadership structure in Grassalco’s history.
The company’s Supervisory Board has also undergone a comprehensive refresh. Marlon Cotino was appointed President Commissioner, filling the vacancy left by Sampi’s move to the executive team, with Lindsey Sanné joining the board as an additional commissioner. All appointments were confirmed during the meeting hosted at the Ministry of Natural Resources, chaired by Minister David Abiamofo, who represented the Suriname government — the majority shareholder of the state-owned enterprise.
Minister Abiamofo expressed full confidence in the new leadership team, local outlet NH reports. The minister noted that the revised governance structure is better aligned with Grassalco’s long-term growth ambitions and planned future development in Suriname’s resources sector.
Each new executive brings deep, sector-relevant experience to their roles: Seymor boasts more than 17 years of professional experience in the mining industry; Sampi has been a dedicated member of the Grassalco organization since 2006, giving him intimate institutional knowledge of the firm’s operations; and Noordzee, a trained business economist, brings over two decades of financial leadership experience gained at SURPOST.
This round of leadership appointments represents the next critical phase of Grassalco’s ongoing corporate restructuring, at a time when the firm remains a cornerstone of Suriname’s domestic mining and natural resources industry. The restructuring effort aims to position the state-owned enterprise to better support the country’s economic growth and resource development goals in coming years.