George was born in South Africa and obtained a National Higher Diploma in Extractive Metallurgy from the Technikon Witwatersrand (Now known as the University of Johannesburg). His career in South Africa saw him working with the diamond company De Beers and gold mining company Anglo American. Whilst with de Beers he worked at their Cullinan and Finsch Diamond Mines whilst his Anglo American exposure was at their FreeGold operations. During this period he was mainly involved in production related roles which included various technical support, projects and middle management positions.
In 2007 he took up employment with Newmont Asia Pacific and relocated to Australia to work at their Jundee Gold Mine in Western Australia. At Jundee he worked mainly in production related roles and progressed from Plant Metallurgist to Plant Manager.
In January 2014, George joined MMG at their Rosebery operation in Tasmania in the role of Concentrator Manager. At Rosebery he also acted as Operations Manager for about 8 months before relocating to the MMG Group Office in Melbourne in July 2016 where he joined the Operational Excellence team. Whilst working in operational excellence George provided support to the MMG operations around the globe in the areas of risk management, improvement and operational readiness for select projects. This included a six month stint in Peru.
In late 2018 George took up the role of Production Manager at the Nyrstar Hobart smelter – in this role he was responsible for all production activities on the site.
In May 2022 George decided to take up consulting and started up his own consulting company. He worked on two assignments during this period, one being as an improvement consultant through Xenco at the Bluestone Tin Mine.
In July 2024, George joined Bluestone in the role of Continuous Improvement Manager and is currently responsible for implementing the Bluestone Continuous Improvement strategy and supporting the site in identifying, planning and executing continuous improvement initiatives and projects.
He is passionate about SAFE production and continuously improving efficiencies and the capability of his people. He understands the importance of and chooses to leverage values-based leadership, clarity of purpose and strategy, clear accountability and bringing everyone along the journey in a meaningful and authentic way.
George is happily married to Jeanette and has a 12-year-old son (also called George) who makes his parents proud while keeping them young!