President and Chief Executive Officer, Titan Mining Corporation
Rita Adiani is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Titan Mining Corporation (NYSE American: TII; TSX: TI), a U.S.-based producer of zinc and natural flake graphite. She leads Titan’s transformation into an integrated supplier of critical minerals essential for national security, energy transition, and industrial-base resilience.
With nearly 20 years of global experience across mining, critical materials, corporate finance, and public-private partnerships, Ms. Adiani has executed over US$70 billion in transactions across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Australia. Under her leadership, Titan secured the first-ever EXIM direct mining loan under the Make More in America Initiative, strengthening domestic graphite processing capacity.
She works closely with U.S. federal and state partners—including EXIM, the Department of War/Office of Industrial Base Resilience, the Defense Logistics Agency, FAST-41 agencies, and Congress—to advance secure, U.S.-based supply chains.
Ms. Adiani previously held senior roles at Arizona Sonoran Copper, Xiana Mining, NRG Capital Partners, Société Générale, and Linklaters LLP, in the United States and internationally.
Jarrod Agen
Assistant to President Trump and Executive Director of the National Energy Dominance Council, The White House
Jarrod Agen is an American policy and communications strategist with more than two decades of experience across government, defense, and corporate communications. He currently serves as Assistant to the President and Executive Director of the National Energy Dominance Council at the White House, where he works on initiatives aimed at expanding U.S. energy production and strengthening energy security for allies. Between serving in President Trump’s White House during both terms, Agen held senior corporate positions, including Vice President of Global Media and Digital Communications at Lockheed Martin, where he oversaw global communications strategy for one of the world’s largest defense contractors. Earlier in his career, he worked in strategic communications roles across several U.S. federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In these roles he managed communications on issues ranging from homeland security and natural disasters to environmental policy and international diplomacy. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Senator Jim Banks
United States Senator, Indiana
Senator Jim Banks is a native Hoosier, born and raised in Columbia City. He is the son of a factory worker and a nursing home cook and was the first in his family to go to college. Banks earned an undergraduate degree from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from Grace College.
Before being elected to the United States Senate in 2024, Banks served in the United States House of Representatives and in the Indiana State Senate.
While serving in the Indiana State Senate from 2010 to 2016, he chaired the Senate Veteran Affairs and the Military Committee. In 2014 and 2015, Senator Banks took a leave of absence from the Indiana State Senate to deploy to Afghanistan during Operations Enduring Freedom and Freedom’s Sentinel.
Banks was elected to the U.S. House in 2016 where he served four terms representing Indiana’s third Congressional district. In the 117th Congress, Congressman Banks served as Chairman of the Republican Study Committee—the largest conservative caucus in the House. During his time in the House, Banks served on the House Armed Services Committee, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party.
On the House Armed Services Committee, Banks served as Chairman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee during the 118th Congress and ranking member of the Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems subcommittee in the 117th Congress.
Senator Banks is a past president of the Columbia City Rotary Club, former chairman of the Whitley County Republican Party, and has served on the Whitley County Council and Northeast Indiana Workforce Development Board.
Throughout Senator Banks’ years in public service, he has been recognized for his leadership and commitment to conservative values.
Senator Banks and his wife Amanda are the parents to three daughters, Lillian, Elizabeth, and Joann.
Dr. Gracelin Baskaran
Director, Critical Minerals Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Dr. Gracelin Baskaran is director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She is a mining economist and has spent over a decade working on critical minerals globally. She began her career in South Africa’s platinum belt and later spent five years at the World Bank in South Africa, where she coauthored the book Africa’s Resource Future: Harnessing Natural Resources for Economic Transformation during the Low-Carbon Transition. She recently published a policy playbook, Critical Minerals and the Future of the United States Economy, and is now writing a book on an international strategy for critical minerals engagement for the United States. Dr. Baskaran is also an adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University, where she teaches on critical minerals in the Center for Security Studies. She was a Fulbright Scholar and has held positions at the University of Cambridge, University of London, and University of Cape Town.
Dr. Baskaran has been cited as an expert in The Economist, Financial Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal,Washington Post, Fox, CNN, Bloomberg, and BBC, and regularly appears on television. She has authored over 200 policy reports, white papers, and op-eds. In 2025, Mining Journal ranked Dr. Baskaran #8 on its list of the most influential figures in global mining—the only woman in the top 12. She regularly speaks at international conferences and policymaker forums and has testified before the U.S. Congress. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge.
Andrew Bednar
CEO, Perella Weinberg
Andrew Bednar is the CEO of Perella Weinberg and has been a Partner since its founding in 2006. He previously was Head of U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions at Bank of America and before that was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Bednar began his career as a corporate lawyer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
Mr. Bednar received a Bachelor of Science and a Masters in Business Administration from Cornell University and received a Juris Doctor from Columbia University. He previously served as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Juilliard School.
Congressman Warren Davidson
United States Congressman, Ohio
Warren Davidson represents Ohio’s 8th Congressional District. He is a member of the House Financial Services Committee, where he is focused on policies that help grow our economy, instill fiscal discipline, advance innovation, and limit runaway government expansion that threatens to bankrupt America.
After high school, Congressman Davidson enlisted in the Army as an infantryman. As part of the 3rd Infantry Division, he was stationed in Germany and witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall. Warren’s commanding officers recognized his potential and helped him earn an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated near the top of his class as a student of American history and mechanical engineering. As an officer, he led in The Old Guard, the 75th Ranger Regiment, and the 101st Airborne Division. In 1995, he married his wife, Lisa Davidson.
After the Army, Congressman Davidson returned home, worked with his father, earned an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, and spent fifteen years owning and operating manufacturing companies in Ohio. In 2016, he again responded to the call of service, and came to work in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Warren and his wife Lisa have been married for 30 years and have two adult children.
Bob Diamond
Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Merchant Capital
Mr. Diamond is our Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer, based in New York. Until 2012, Mr. Diamond was Chief Executive of Barclays, having previously held the position of President of Barclays and was responsible for Barclays Capital and Barclays Global Investors (“BGI”). He became an executive director of Barclays in 2005 and was a member of the Barclays Executive Committee since 1997.
Prior to Barclays, Mr. Diamond held senior executive positions at Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley in the United States, Europe and Asia. Mr. Diamond worked at Credit Suisse First Boston from 1992 to 1996, where his roles included Vice Chairman and Head of Global Fixed Income and Foreign Exchange in New York, as well as Chairman, President and CEO of Credit Suisse First Boston Pacific. Mr. Diamond worked at Morgan Stanley from 1979 to 1992, including as the Head of European and Asian Fixed Income Trading.
Mr. Diamond is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Concord Acquisition Corp II (NYSE:CNDA) and a member of the Board of Directors of Crux Informatics. Mr. Diamond also serves on the Yale SOM Council of Global Advisors.
A native of Concord, Massachusetts, Mr. Diamond holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Colby College in Maine and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. He was awarded Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Connecticut and Doctor of Laws from Colby College.
Steve Hendel
Founding Managing Director, General Partner, Hartree Partners
Stephen Hendel is Founding Managing Partner of Hartree Partners. Hartree is a leading U.S.-based global merchant commodities firm headquartered in New York. Since co-founding Hartree in 1997, along with Stephen Semlitz and Guy Merison, Hartree has become one of the most influential and trusted participants in global commodities markets. Under their leadership, Hartree has grown from a U.S. energy-focused trading operation into a diversified global platform spanning energy, metals, agriculture, and environmental products. With around 5,000 employees and a presence in all major commodity markets worldwide, Hartree combines deep trading expertise, physical asset ownership, and disciplined risk management to deliver long-term value for partners, counterparties, and stakeholders.
A pioneer in the modern era of commodities and energy trading, Stephen is regarded as one of the industry’s most accomplished and respected figures. He has earned a reputation shaped over decades, beginning with his tenure at J. Aron & Company, acquired by Goldman Sachs in 1981, one of the most formative institutions in global commodities markets. He served as Co-Head of the J. Aron Commodity and Currency Division and Co-Head of Energy Trading, helping steer the firm through a pivotal period of innovation, globalization, and rapid market evolution. From 1981 to 1996, he held senior leadership roles at Goldman Sachs, spanning precious metals, energy, and global commodity trading.
At Hartree, Stephen and his co-founders have overseen the firm’s organic expansion into new commodity verticals and its strategy of selective, high-impact acquisitions. Their leadership has enabled Hartree to deploy its trading capabilities and market insights into complementary assets, including extending its reach into soft commodities and environmental markets. Hartree’s U.S.-based roots, global reach, and strong culture of integrity have positioned the firm as a reliable partner to U.S. institutions, including policymakers and government agencies seeking a stable, transparent, and domestically anchored market participant.
Stephen holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. Across his career, he has been recognized for his strategic vision, commitment to disciplined risk management, and enduring contributions to the global commodities landscape.
John Jovanovic
President & Chairman | Office of the President & Chairman
Mr. Jovanovic serves as the President & Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He brings to EXIM extensive experience in financing, investing, and business building across energy and critical infrastructure industries within the private sector and U.S. government.
Prior to EXIM, Mr. Jovanovic served as Chief Strategy Officer at Asplundh, the largest provider of critical infrastructure services across North America. While there, he led the company’s growth initiatives and digital innovation while overseeing Corporate Development (including mergers and acquisitions) and External Affairs.
During his prior U.S. government service, Mr. Jovanovic was Regional Head and Managing Director for the Aegean & Western Balkans at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), America’s $60 billion development bank, opening DFC’s first ever overseas office. At DFC, he participated in countering Chinese and Russian malign influence by helping provide American-led financing alternatives in the region. He also led the implementation of President Trump’s historic Washington Agreements on Economic Normalization between Kosovo and Serbia.
Prior to his government service, Mr. Jovanovic was Investment Director at Mercuria Energy Group, where he managed investment and business building efforts across North and South America.
Mr. Jovanovic holds a degree in Politics from Princeton University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a double major in Finance and Management.
He is married and has four young children.
Fred Kempe
President and CEO, Atlantic Council
Fred Kempe is the president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic Council. Under his leadership since 2007, the Council has achieved historic, industry-leading growth in size and influence, expanding its work through regional centers spanning the globe and through centers focused on topics ranging from international security and energy to global trade and next generation mentorship.
Before joining the Council, Kempe was a prize-winning editor and reporter at the Wall Street Journalfor more than twenty-five years. In New York, he served as assistant managing editor, International, and columnist. Prior to that, he was the longest-serving editor and associate publisher ever of the Wall Street Journal Europe, running the global Wall Street Journal’s editorial operations in Europe and the Middle East.
In 2002, The European Voice, a leading publication following EU affairs, selected Kempe as one of the fifty most influential Europeans, and as one of the four leading journalists in Europe. At the Wall Street Journal, he served as a roving correspondent based out of London; as a Vienna Bureau chief covering Eastern Europe and East-West Affairs; as chief diplomatic correspondent in Washington, DC; and as the paper’s first Berlin Bureau chief following the unification of Germany and collapse of the Soviet Union.
As a reporter, he covered events including the rise of Solidarity in Poland and the growing Eastern European resistance to Soviet rule; the coming to power of Mikhail Gorbachev in Russia and his summit meetings with President Ronald Reagan; the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon in the 1980s; and the American invasion of Panama. He also covered the unification of Germany and the collapse of Soviet Communism.
He is the author of four books. The most recent, Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth, was a New York Times Best Seller and a National Best Seller. Published in 2011, it has subsequently been translated into thirteen different languages.
Kempe is a graduate of the University of Utah and has a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, where he was a member of the International Fellows program in the School of International Affairs. He won the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism’s top alumni achievement award and the University of Utah’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
For his commitment to strengthening the transatlantic alliance, Kempe has been decorated by the Presidents of Poland and Germany and by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
Howard Lutnick
41st United States Secretary of Commerce
Howard W. Lutnick serves as the 41st United States Secretary of Commerce. During President Trump’s 2024 election campaign, he was the Co-Chair of the Trump-Vance Transition Team.
Before entering public service, Mr. Lutnick was a prominent figure on Wall Street for over three decades, simultaneously serving as Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. and BGC Group, as well as Executive Chairman of Newmark. He joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983 and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming President and CEO at just 29 years old.
Tragedy struck on September 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, and Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 of its 960 New York-based employees, including Mr. Lutnick’s brother and his best friend. He emerged from these events with an indomitable sense of purpose to rebuild the firm to honor those lost, support their families, and become a beacon of hope for those who remained.
In the days after the attacks, Mr. Lutnick launched the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, which donated $180 million to families of his coworkers who died on 9/11. He has donated more than $100 million to victims of terrorism, natural disasters, and other emergencies around the world.
Mr. Lutnick served on the Board of Directors of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and Weill Cornell Medicine. He was named the Financial Times Person of the Year in 2001 and Ernst & Young’s United States Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010. Howard also received the Department of the Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest honor granted to non-military personnel by the Navy.
Congressman Rob Wittman
United States Representative, Virginia
Congressman Rob Wittman was first elected to the United States Congress to serve Virginia’s First Congressional District in 2007. While in office, he has focused on strengthening our military and supporting our nation’s veterans, promoting a flourishing economy through fiscal responsibility and pro-growth policies, fixing our crumbling infrastructure, increasing access to high-speed internet, and promoting workforce development through Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs.
In the U.S. Congress, Congressman Wittman serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee, where he is well-positioned to represent the needs of Virginia’s First District. He has earned a strong reputation for being an advocate for our men and women in uniform and for being a champion of the Chesapeake Bay.
On the Armed Services Committee, Congressman Wittman serves as vice chairman of the full committee and the chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. On the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, Congressman Wittman oversees the largest portfolio of modernization programs on the House Armed Services Committee, with vast ramifications for the future of the U.S. military’s ground and air forces and munitions stockpiles. Congressman Wittman also serves on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As co-chair of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus, he is a staunch advocate for a robust naval fleet and a healthy domestic shipbuilding industry. He also currently serves on the U.S. Naval Academy’s Board of Visitors.
As a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Congressman Wittman serves on both the Energy and Minerals Subcommittee, as well as the Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee, where he brings his professional expertise in water quality, fisheries, and other natural resource issues. He is a proud champion of the Chesapeake Bay for its environmental and economic attributes and has introduced legislation that will increase the accountability and effectiveness of cleaning up the bay. He serves as co-chair of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Caucus, which brings the bay’s issues into focus for Members of Congress.
As a co-chair of the House Rural Broadband Caucus, Congressman Wittman is leading the way to bring high-speed internet to the unserved areas of the First District and the nation. His Serving Rural America Act served as a model for the NTIA Broadband Infrastructure Program, a $288 million funding program for partnerships between localities and providers of fixed broadband service to support broadband deployment. His other infrastructure priorities include deepening and widening the Port of Virginia, easing congestion on I-95, improving traffic and safety concerns along I-64, improving and expanding the Long Bridge, expanding the capacity of the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), and providing sustainable funding mechanisms to Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA).
Congressman Wittman was re-elected for his eighth full term in the House of Representatives in November 2022 and prior to that, he served in several levels of government. Congressman Wittman won his first campaign for public office in 1986 when he was elected to the Montross Town Council, where he served for 10 years, four of them as mayor. In 1995, he was elected to the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors and was elected its chairman in 2003. In 2005, voters in the 99th Legislative District elected Rob to the Virginia House of Delegates, where he served until his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007.
Prior to his election to Congress, Rob spent 26 years working in state government, most recently as field director for the Virginia Health Department’s Division of Shellfish Sanitation. Earlier in his career, he worked as an environmental health specialist for local health departments in Virginia’s Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula regions.
He holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Virginia Tech.
