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Neo manufactures advanced industrial materials that serve as the building blocks of many modern technologies that deliver enhanced efficiency and sustainability. The Company’s products – magnetic powders and magnets, specialty chemicals, metals, and alloys – are critical to the performance of many everyday products as well as emerging technologies. Neo’s products help to deliver the technologies of tomorrow to consumers today.
Neo’s advanced industrial materials are also key to some of the world’s sought-after and environmentally friendly and sustainable technologies, such as hybrid and electric vehicles, pollution control systems, high-efficiency appliances and pumps, energy-efficient lighting, water purification, and many more.
Sustainable technologies start with Neo Materials.
At Neo Performance Materials, we believe in these things: (1) delivering high-quality advanced industrial products and exemplary service to customers globally; (2) advancing our customers’ product development and sustainability goals, and; (3) maintaining workplaces that are safe, efficient, and managed with sustainability in mind.
We work to achieve these goals by adhering to a set of core business principles throughout our Company. To learn about our core business principles, see our Mission Statement here.
Neo Performance Materials Inc. is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “NEO.” A profitable, dividend-paying company with a strong balance sheet and robust cash-flow generation, Neo is well positioned in markets that are forecast to see robust, long-term growth driven by multiple global macro trends, such as vehicle electrification, industrial automation, consumer electronics, energy-efficient lighting, air and water pollution control, superalloys, and many others.
Learn more about Neo in our latest Investor Presentation.
Neo is lead by a highly experienced team of industry leaders with the expertise to deliver results, based on a combined 200+ years of experience.
Ms. Kennedy is Board Chair of Neo and has served as a Director since October 2017. She serves on the Audit Committee, Compensation and Human Resources Committee, the Health, Environment, Safety and Sustainability (HESS) Committee, and is Chair of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. Ms. Kennedy was a member of the Board of Directors of Neo Material Technologies from February 2010 to June 2012 and served on the Audit Committee. Ms. Kennedy was a Partner in the Toronto office of Bennett Jones LLP from 2009. In 2019, she became Senior Advisor, Clients and Industries. Ms. Kennedy is Lead Director of the Bank of Canada. She also is a Director of Alamos Gold Inc., which is listed on the TSX and NYSE, and serves as Audit Committee Chair. She received her ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and she has completed the Making Corporate Boards More Effective program at Harvard Business School and the Advanced Management Program at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. She is a Professional Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto. Claire is past Chair of the Governing Council of the University of Toronto and is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Mr. Karayannopoulos is Chief Executive Officer and Director and serves on the Health, Environment, Safety and Sustainability (HESS) Committee. Mr. Karayannopoulos has worked in senior executive positions at Neo and its predecessor companies for more than 20 years, including as Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Neo Material Technologies (“NEM”) (TSX:NEM) from 2005 until NEM was acquired in June 2012 for US $1.3 billion. Mr. Karayannopoulos also served as non-executive Chairman of the Board of Neo Lithium Corp., from 2016 until January 2022. He is also a director of the board of the Canada China Business Council, and a member of the Board of Advisors of the University of Toronto’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. He holds Bachelor and Master of Applied Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto.
Mr. Noyrez has been a Lead Director of Neo since October 2017, and prior to this he was an independent director of Neo Chemicals & Oxides, LLC since August 31, 2016. He also serves on the Compensation and Human Resources Committee as Chair, the Audit Committee and the HESS Committee. In October 2018, he was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Serra Verde Mineracao, a company aiming at developing and producing a rare earths concentrate. Since 2014, he shares his business activities as a board member and advisor.
From February 2010 to June 2014, he served successive roles from Chief Operating Officer to Director and Chief Executive Officer at Lynas Corporation, an integrated rare earth mining and separation company. Prior to Lynas, he served as President of the SILCEA division of Rhodia (named Solvay S.A. now) and before 2000, spent 11 years in different business leadership roles at Shell. Eric started his career as an automotive designer at Peugeot-Citroën. He holds a
Master’s Degree in Engineering (Meng) from École des Mines de Douai, France.
Gail Edwards has been a Director of Neo Performance Materials since June 2019 and is Chair of the Audit Committee. She is a C-suite financial and real estate executive who is currently a director of Amica Senior Lifestyles and Chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Edwards is also a member of the Real Estate Advisory Committee (REAC) for OP Trust, which manages one of Canada’s largest pension funds, and a member of the REAC of the New York State Common Retirement Fund which manages funds in excess of US$250 billion. Ms. Edwards has held executive management positions with the Minto Group, JH Investments Inc., a New York based real estate developer, a NYSE listed entertainment company, a U.S. based global food service and hospitality company and a Canadian banking institution. Ms. Edwards has her ICD.D designation and is a Canadian Chartered Accountant holding a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Western Ontario.
Mr. Lee has been a Director of Neo Performance Materials since October 2017, and prior to this he was a director of Neo Chemicals & Oxides, LLC since August 31, 2016. He also serves on the Compensation and Human Resources Committee and the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. He is a private investor and has over 20 years of finance, mergers and acquisition and capital markets experience. Previously, Mr. Lee founded and was the Portfolio Manager of the $6 billion Strategic Credit Strategy at Oaktree Capital Management until December 31, 2019. He was also the CEO and CIO of Oaktree’s three business development companies (BDCs) including Oaktree Specialty Lending and Oaktree Strategic Income Corporations. Prior to founding the strategy, he was a senior investment professional within the Opportunities Funds group of Oaktree Capital Management. Prior to joining Oaktree Capital Management, Mr. Lee worked within the Investment Banking division at UBS Investment Bank in Los Angeles, where he was responsible for advising clients on equity and debt financings and mergers and acquisitions. Prior experience includes work at Lehman Brothers Inc., Katzenbach Partners LLP and the Urban Institute. He received a B.A. degree in economics from Swarthmore College and his master’s degree from Harvard University.
Yadin Rozov is an investment professional with over 20 years of experience in capital markets, corporate finance, investment banking, and investment management with substantial experience in corporate strategy and governance. He serves on the Audit Committee and the Compensation and Human Resources Committee. He is the founder and Managing Partner of Terrace Edge Ventures LLC, a financial advisory firm. Previously, Mr. Rozov was a Partner of GoldenTree Asset Management LLC, a leading global credit asset management firm, where he also served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Syncora Guarantee Inc. and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Guaranty UK Ltd, each of which are stand-alone specialty insurance companies owned by GoldenTree. Additionally, he was a Partner and Managing Director at Moelis & Company where he headed the Financial Institution Advisory group. While at Moelis, Mr. Rozov helped co-found College Avenue Student Loans LLC and served on its board and co-founded Chamonix Partners Capital Management LLC. Before Moelis, Mr. Rozov was a Managing Director at UBS AG, where he was the Head of the Americas for the Repositioning Group. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Midwest Holding, Inc. and Oramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mr. Rozov earned an M.Sc. in data science from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree with highest honors in physics and materials engineering from Rutgers University.
Our management team is composed of a group of seasoned veterans with significant advanced materials industry knowledge and expertise. Many of our team members have spent a significant portion of their career with the company.
Mr. Karayannopoulos is Chief Executive Officer and Director and serves on the Health, Environment, Safety and Sustainability (HESS) Committee. Mr. Karayannopoulos has worked in senior executive positions at Neo and its predecessor companies for more than 20 years, including as Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Neo Material Technologies (“NEM”) (TSX:NEM) from 2005 until NEM was acquired in June 2012 for US $1.3 billion. Mr. Karayannopoulos also served as non-executive Chairman of the Board of Neo Lithium Corp., from 2016 until January 2022. He is also a director of the board of the Canada China Business Council, and a member of the Board of Advisors of the University of Toronto’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. He holds Bachelor and Master of Applied Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto.
Rahim Suleman is President, having been appointed on January 1, 2023. Previously, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since January 16, 2017. Rahim was Chief Financial Officer at Stackpole International since 2010. From 2009 – 2010, he was Global Finance Manager with GE Digital Energy Protection and Control. Prior to 2010, he held successively senior finance positions in public accounting, manufacturing, internet technology and financial consulting firms. He is a Canadian Chartered Accountant holding a Masters of Accountancy and a Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy from the University of Waterloo.
Kevin Morris is Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer from January 1, 2023. Previously, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Neo since August 31, 2016. He was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Molycorp, Inc. since May 2016, which followed his earlier roles of Executive Vice President of Rare Metals and Administration from February 2015 and Senior Vice President of Rare Metals and Administration from June 2012. He joined Molycorp as Senior Vice President Administration in November 2011. Previously, Mr. Morris practiced environmental law and civil litigation for 16 years with Andre, Morris & Buttery, a California-based business law firm . From 2010 through 2011, he was the managing principal of the firm. Mr. Morris received his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and his Juris Doctor degree from the UCLA School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in the State of California.
Jeff Hogan was appointed the Executive Vice President of Neo Chemicals and Oxides in September 2016 after having served as Executive Vice President of Resources for Molycorp, Inc. Previously, he was Vice President & General Manager of Chemicals & Oxides of Molycorp after its acquisition of Neo Material Technologies in June 2012. Prior to the acquisition, he was the Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Performance Materials Division of Neo Material Technologies Inc. He was also General Manager of the Company’s Thailand operation for a period of time. He joined the Company as a Marketing Manager in June 1999 and was responsible for U.S. sales of rare earth products and production at the Company’s Chinese joint ventures. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Hogan was Technical Director responsible for sales and technical efforts at a start-up manufacturing facility for inorganic metallic salts in Subic Bay, Philippines from 1997 to 1998. From 1995 to 1997, he was Assistant Plant Manager/Production Chemist at Palm International in Tennessee. From 1988 to 1991, he held successively senior positions at The Hall Chemical Company, culminating in Senior R&D/Production Chemist. Mr. Hogan graduated from Cleveland State University with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering.
Greg Kroll was appointed Executive Vice President of Neo Magnequench in January 2018 after serving as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, since 2014. Greg joined Magnequench in 2000 and served in a number of roles, including Business Development Manager, Director of Marketing, and Director of Sales and Marketing. Mr. Kroll completed his undergraduate studies at The George Washington University in 2000, including a Chinese language studies program at Peking University. He was awarded an MBA in 2010 from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Frank Timmerman is the Senior Vice President of Neo Rare Metals. Frank joined the team in 2005 as the Marketing and Sales Manager responsible for the sales of rare earth products for Europe. In 2010, he became General Manager of the Rare Metals business unit. He became the Vice President Rare Metals of Molycorp, Inc., following Molycorp’s acquisition of Neo Material Technologies in 2012. Prior to joining Neo, Frank was involved in research and development at Philips Display Components, first as an R&D Engineer and later as an R&D Manager of their Phosphors business unit. Mr. Timmerman graduated from Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Eindhoven, the Netherlands with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and he completed the Diploma program in Business Management and Leadership at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.
Several global macro trends are driving long-term growth in demand for the advanced industrial materials that Neo manufactures. Many of these trends reflect society’s increasing desire to reduce pollution and increase the sustainability of the products we use every day. The trends are driving change in virtually every modern industrial sector around the world.
Neo’s core business strategy is to identify these trends and produce the advanced industrial materials required by these shifts in technology. Whether it is environmental catalyst materials to reduce vehicle air emissions, or specialty chemicals to purify water, or superalloy additives that reduce weight and cut fuel consumption in transportation systems – much of Neo’s product offering provides the key functionality needed by these technologies.
Neo is proud to serve the needs of our customers across many different industries around the world. Here are a few of the industrial markets we serve.
At Neo, our advanced industrial materials enable a wide array of everyday and emerging technologies. Our materials deliver a range of powerful properties to the products in which they are used, including magnetic, catalytic, luminescent, electrochemical, thermal stability, and superconductive. Neo’s products lie at the heart of many of the world’s fast-growing applications. Here are just a few examples.
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