THE DRILLER'S CHOICE

Board & Management

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Non-Executive Directors

Independent Non-Executive Chairman

Hugh McCullough
Senior Independent Non-Executive Director

Paul Lynch
Independent Non-Executive Director

Pirita Mikkanen
Independent Non-Executive Director

Orla O’Gorman
Non-Executive Director

Jussi Rautiainen

Independent Non-Executive Chairman

Hugh McCullough

Hugh has over 40 years’ experience in gold and base metal exploration, principally in Ireland, Ghana, Mali and Papua New Guinea,.

Having previously worked as a project geologist, in 1982 he became chief executive of Glencar Mining plc.

Hugh was responsible for the management, financing and strategy of Glencar for over 27 years until it was acquired by Gold Fields Limited in September 2009.

Hugh is a geologist and holds an honours degree in geology from University College Dublin and a degree of Barrister-at-Law from the King’s Inns, Dublin.

Senior Independent Non-Executive Director

Paul Lynch

Paul currently acts as strategic adviser for a number of companies having recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Applegreen plc, a quoted petrol forecourt retailer in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, between 2014 and 2017.

Paul qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen in 1990, after which followed a wide ranging career in corporate finance and senior management across a number of industry sectors.

He was a director of Heiton Group plc for seven years, from 2000 to 2007, initially as Head of Corporate Development and subsequently as Managing Director of its Retail Division.

Paul served as chief executive of large-scale businesses in the retail, manufacturing, waste management and facility services sectors and he has led and concluded over 20 M&A transactions across diverse industries and jurisdictions.

Independent Non-Executive Director

Pirita Mikkanen

Pirita is currently a Vice President of Energy with the Metsä Group, a Finnish forest industry group operating in international markets, focused on the responsible processing of northern wood into first-class products. Her team at Metsa works to ensure reliable and cost-effective energy production and leads the sustainable development of Metsä utilities.

Prior to joining Metsa, her experience included roles with TM Systems Oy, an industrial air systems company with a focus on reducing energy usage and emissions, and serving as CEO of Lifa Air Ltd Oy, a pioneer in the development of services, machines and equipment that enable cleaner and healthier indoor air. She has acted as a fund manager and board member of climate funds.

Pirita holds a Ph.D in Applied Physics, focusing on cleantech on pollution prevention, from the Helsinki University of Technology.

Independent Non-Executive Director

Orla O’Gorman

Orla has in-depth understanding of scaling companies through 25+ years’ experience of working with them from the perspectives of an executive leader, advisor, capital markets operator and non-executive director.

Orla was formerly Head of Listing for Ireland and UK at Euronext. In 2015 she founded Euronext’s IPOready programme, to give companies the required skillsets for raising strategic finance.  Orla is a strong advocate for funding scaling companies and is a member of Scale Ireland’s Steering Group.

Orla is a non-executive director of Cairn Homes plc, Cubic Telecom, Bon Secours Health System and Elite SpA; she is also a member of the Elkstone Ventures Advisory Board.

Orla has a Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Accounting from University College Dublin.  She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and is a member of their Ethics and Governance Committee, and Sustainability Expert Working Group. 

Non-Executive Director

Jussi Rautiainen

Jussi joined Mincon Group in January 2017. He was chief executive officer of Robit Rocktools Ltd. from 2005 to January, 2016. Prior to that, he held international management positions at Huhtamäki Oyj and UPM Kymmene Corporation. Jussi holds a Bachelor of Economics degree and has also an Executive Master of Business Administration degree.

Executive Directors

Chief Executive Officer

Joseph Purcell
Chief Operating Officer

Tom Purcell

Chief Executive Officer

Joseph Purcell

Joseph qualified as a mechanical engineer in 1988 at University College Galway, in Ireland and since then has worked with Mincon in various capacities.

DTH hammer design has been his main area of specialisation although he has extensive experience in manufacturing methods, heat-treatment and process development.

His hammer design work has included seven years in Perth, Australia where he developed a successful range of reverse circulation and conventional DTH hammers for local and export markets.

Joseph was appointed as chief technical officer for the Mincon Group on his return from Australia in 1998. In May 2015, Joseph was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Mincon Group plc.

Chief Operating Officer

Tom Purcell

Thomas has a background in accounting prior to emigrating to the USA to work with Mincon on a new joint venture opportunity in the country.

He worked for the Mincon Group in the dimensional stone quarrying industry during which time he was key in setting up operations in Virginia and North Carolina. In 1996, Mincon sold its investment in the quarrying entities to Marlin Group of South Africa.
He worked in various positions with their USA subsidiary from Purchasing and Safety Manager of four quarrying companies, to CFO and Operations Manager for their Atlanta based operation, Stone Connection.

He re-joined the Mincon Group in 1999 as President of Mincon, Inc.

Executive Management & Company Secretary

Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary

Mark McNamara
Chief People Officer, Mincon Group

Iwona Machaj

Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary

Mark McNamara

Mark began his finance career in practice in 2004 where he qualified as a Certified Public Accountant (“CPA”). He began working with Mincon as Financial Controller of Mincon International Ltd. in March 2010.

He moved into the position as Group Financial Controller in 2013 prior to the IPO of Mincon where he was the lead accountant. Preceding his finance career Mark worked in airline operations and holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology.

Mark also held the position of company secretary for Mincon Group plc between March 2017 and March 2019.

Chief People Officer, Mincon Group

Iwona Machaj

Iwona Machaj is Mincon’s first Chief People Officer, bringing more than two decades of international HR leadership to the Group. With a career spanning high-growth international markets and industries including engineering, SaaS, manufacturing, and tech-enabled services, Iwona has shaped transformative people strategies that drive innovation, operational excellence, and sustainable performance.

Before joining Mincon, she held senior executive roles at Ad Astra Global and Argos Multilingual, where she led HR through periods of rapid global growth, M&A integrations, and digital transformation. Her approach consistently champions inclusive, high-performance cultures and agile, scalable teams that are ready for the future.

At Mincon, Iwona partners closely with the Group’s leadership to align people strategy with global growth, innovation, and long-term value creation. Her work focuses on unlocking human potential through talent development, cultural transformation, and purpose-driven leadership, ensuring that Mincon remains a place where people thrive, innovate, and grow.

A lifelong learner, Iwona holds executive education from The London School of Economics and The Wharton School, underscoring her belief in adaptive leadership and human-centred transformation. Her mission at Mincon is to build a truly global employer of choice, one that delivers sustainable impact through its people, everywhere we operate.

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