Aviva Corporation welcomes new chief financial officer

Aviva Corporation (ASX: AVA) has appointed chartered accountant and resources veteran Stef Weber as chief financial officer.

Weber has almost 20 years experience in the resources industry, with 16 of those spent with South African-based coal and base metals miner Exxaro Resources (JSE: EXX).

Most recently he was finance manager and company secretary for Exxaro’s operations and projects in Australia.

In that role he managed the sale and purchase of a power station for Exxaro through their Tiwest joint venture interest in Western Australia.

Weber has extensive experience in corporate finance, debt funding, joint ventures and tax planning/management, and has held various senior financial positions with Exxaro both in South Africa and Australia, including the position of financial manager for the Grootgeluk coal mine, which is close to the Botswana border.

Aviva chief executive Lindsay Reed said Weber’s experience closely matches the company’s strategic direction in the near term as it seeks to extract value from its energy and metals assets.

“Not only does he add considerable financial expertise to Aviva, but his exposure to coal, base metals and Africa will be invaluable,” he said.

The company recently returned more high grade results from further drilling at the Bumbo Base Metals Project in West Kenya that indicate potential to extend the 1.68 million tonnes Inferred JORC Resource.

Aviva is planning further infill and extension holes for Bumbo which should be completed in the March quarter of 2012.

Originally published at: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/22986/aviva-corporation-welcomes-new-chief-financial-officer-22986.html