Management Team

Mr. Barbosa joined the Company in October 2016 and became the Company’s President and CEO in January 2017 and a director in May 2017. Mr. Barbosa was previously the CEO of Tavex / Santista, a world-leading integrated manufacturer of denim with worldwide operations including Brazil, Mexico and the US. During his tenure at Tavex / Santista, Mr. Barbosa led a successful strategic, finance, marketing and operations turnaround. Prior to Tavex / Santista, Mr. Barbosa was the CFO of the investment holding company of Camargo Correa Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Brazil and parent company of Tavex / Santista. As CFO he spearheaded M&A transactions totaling over USD$3.0 billion and structured and placed over USD$2.5 billion in debt. Mr. Barbosa has served as a board member of leading public infrastructure companies in Brazil and worked as an investment banker for BBA Creditanstalt also in Brazil (now Itaú Bank). In North America, Mr. Barbosa has previously worked for Potash Corporation. Mr. Barbosa has an MBA from the University of Southern California (USC) and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the Universidade Mackenzie (Sao Paulo, Brazil). He is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English. 

Mr. Cardoso joined Aura in March 2019 in the position of Chief Financial Officer. Mr, Cardoso is an Economist from Unicamp in Brazil and has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, with majors in Finance, Strategy and International Business. Prior to joining Aura, Mr. Cardoso was the CFO of Santista, a large denim manufacturer with operations in Brazil and Argentina. Prior to Santista, Mr. Cardoso worked for Mover Participações, one of the largest conglomerates in Brazil, and was involved in M&A projects. Mr. Cardoso has also worked in the management consulting industry for A.T. Kearney and Accenture in a variety of industries and projects.

Mr. Luvizotto joined Aura Minerals in April 2018. He has a strong technical expertise, particularly in underground operations where he has most of his 13 years of experience in the mining industry. Prior to joining Aura Minerals he worked as VP of Operations for BrioGold Inc. and a held managerial positions with Yamana Gold Inc. and AngloGold Ashanti. Mr. Luvizotto is a Mine Engineer from Ouro Preto Federal University in Brazil and complemented his studies in Queen’s University – Smith School of Business Executive Program in Canada. His native language is Portuguese but he is fluent in Spanish and English.

Paula joined Aura in April 2021 in the position of Head of People and ESG. She studied Business Administration at Fundacao Armando Alvares Penteado – FAAP, and Human Resources Management at Cornell University. Prior to joining Aura, Paula worked in companies such as Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Braskem and Odebrecht. Countries she has lived are Brazil, Libya, United Arab Emirates, and USA since 2013. She is fluent in Portuguese, English, and Spanish.

Pitágoras Costa is an Electrical Engineer from PUC-MG, with an extension in project management from the University of California. He has experience in all stages of projects and operations. He has led the development, implementation, commissioning and ramp-up of projects and operations at Yamana Gold, Serra Verde Research and Mining and Great Panther Mining in Brazil, Peru, and Mexico. As a leader, Pitágoras adopts a transparent, collaborative, and participative management style, always trusting and giving autonomy to his team, seeking a high-quality, safe and productive work environment. He is an enthusiast for innovative ideas, since he believes new ideas are the catalyst to an outstanding performance.

Ms. Sofía Aguilar Fortín is a Commercial-oriented Lawyer graduated from the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), with a Master’s Degree in Corporate Business Law from the Central American Technological University (UNITEC). She has worked in the Mining Industry for more than 13 years in the San Andrés Mine project, Honduras (MINOSA), serving in various positions including Legal and Institutional Relations Officer and Manager of Corporate and Legal Affairs. Among her responsibilities are everything concerning communities, social projection, communications, institutional relations and legal matters of MINOSA. She recently assumed the position of General Manager of Community, Institutional and Legal Relations.

Mr. Wilton Muricy is a Civil Engineer from Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, with an MBA in Project Management from Fundação Getúlio Vargas. He has been working in the Mining Industry for over 16 years, both in projects and operations. As a service provider, he worked for companies such as Kinross and Votorantim Metais (now Nexa). Mr. Muricy has also acted in different management positions at Yamana Gold during 10 years. He has been with Aura Minerals since June 2018, where he joined as Senior Project Manager, having worked on the restart of Aranzazu in Mexico and supporting Sustaining Projects for Apoena in Brazil, and Minosa in Honduras. Amongst his responsibilities are the engineering, technical-economic feasibility studies for the Greenfield Projects Almas and Matupá. He recently assumed the General Manager position for Minosa Operations in Honduras.

Mr. Rodrigues is a professional with more than 15 years of experience in mining industry. Joined Aura in December, 2018 as Plant Manager and has been responsible for all Aranzazu industrial operation, leading the ramp up of the Plant to its full capacity and the increase of gold and copper recovery to feasibility study levels. Prior to joining Aura, Mr. Rodrigues has worked as General Manager at mine of Pilar, part of BrioGold Inc. and held managerial positions at Yamana Gold Inc. and AngloGold Ashanti.

Mr. Rodrigues is a Metallurgical Engineer from the Ouro Preto Federal University with complementary studies in Fundacao Dom Cabral.

Frederico Silva is a professional with over 15 years of experience in mining, having worked in the areas of mine operation and infrastructure, in both underground and open pit. Experienced working with large corporations such as Samarco, Nexa and AngloGold Ashanti, Fred holds a degree in Production Engineering from UNIPAC, with a specialization in underground excavations, and holds an MBA degree from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. As a leader, Fred seeks foster a collaborative environment with delegation of decision-making and empowerment of teams, bringing the best of our people.