Newmont Management

Tom Palmer is only the 10th Chief Executive Officer in Newmont's 104-year history and has led the world's largest gold mining company through a period of strategic transformation.

Since Tom's appointment as CEO in October 2019, Newmont has executed three transformational transactions that have fundamentally reshaped Newmont and the global gold mining landscape. In 2019, the company successfully acquired Goldcorp and established the Nevada Gold Mines Joint Venture, setting a new standard for strategic partnerships in large-scale mining operations. This was then followed by the landmark acquisition of Newcrest in November 2023, creating an unparalleled portfolio of world-class assets across key mining jurisdictions.

During Tom’s tenure, Newmont has maintained its commitment to responsible mining practices while delivering substantial value creation for all of its stakeholders. His commitment to safety has contributed to Newmont's ongoing efforts to improve safety performance, advance transparency and help to elevate industry-wide standards through open dialogue and shared learnings.

Tom has prioritized the development of leaders across the organization with an approach that builds a common understanding of the systems, symbols and leadership behaviors that are required to build an organizational capability for the future. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tom led Newmont through unprecedented global challenges by grounding every decision in the company's values, ensuring continuity of operations while prioritizing workforce and community safety—a period that tested the organization's resilience and reinforced the importance of purpose-driven leadership.

Tom's industry leadership extends beyond Newmont, where he serves as Chair of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), Vice Chair of the World Gold Council, and previously chaired the World Economic Forum's Mining & Metals Governors Community.

Tom joined Newmont in 2014 as Managing Director Indonesia before taking on the role of Managing Director Asia Pacific in 2015, and became Chief Operating Officer in 2016. Prior to Newmont, he spent 20 years at Rio Tinto, culminating his tenure as Chief Operating Officer of the Pilbara Iron Ore mining operations. He holds a Master of Engineering Science degree and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and has served on the Board of Nevada Gold Mines Joint Venture for the last six years.

President, Chief Operating Officer and Incoming Chief Executive Officer (effective January 1, 2026) 

Natascha Viljoen is President and Chief Operating Officer of Newmont Corporation, the world’s leading gold company , and will become Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and join the Board of Directors on January 1, 2026. She is set to become the first woman to lead Newmont in its more than 100-year history.

Since joining Newmont as Chief Operating Officer in 2023, she has overseen all of the company’s operations, with a focus on integration of acquired assets, portfolio optimization, and talent development across the company’s global footprint.

With more than 30 years of international mining experience, Natascha has held senior leadership roles across multiple commodities and continents. Prior to joining Newmont, she served as Chief Executive Officer of Anglo American Platinum (now Valterra), the world’s largest primary producer of platinum, and was a member of the Anglo American plc Group Management Committee. Earlier in her career, she not only gained hands-on experience working with operators and maintainers in mining and processing, she also held leadership positions at Anglo American, BHP and Lonmin, earning a reputation for safety leadership, operational discipline, and building high-performance teams.

Natascha is a second-generation miner. Her early exposure to mining—growing up in a mining family and accompanying her father, a winding engine driver, to work—instilled in her a deep respect for the industry and its people.

A native of South Africa, Natascha is passionate about the role of mining as a force for good, combining innovation with responsible practices to deliver value for shareholders, employees, host communities, and society.  She combines deep technical acumen with strategic execution, focusing on operational excellence, and embedding sustainability and safety into the company’s growth trajectory.

Jen Cmil was appointed Executive Vice President, Human Resources in October 2019 and as Senior Vice President, Human Resources in June 2019 after having previously served as Vice President, Talent Management since February 2018. Jen joined Newmont in 2010 and has held the roles of Group Executive, Human Resources and Senior Director, Human Resources. Prior to Newmont, Jen held leadership positions in human resources across multiple industries, including Vice President of Human Resources at Level 3 Telecommunications, Senior Human Resources Director at KB Home and Human Resources Business Partner at Sun Microsystems, where she began her career in 1994. She has a proven track record of partnering with senior leaders to increase performance and engagement through partnership with Human Resources and she is passionate about developing individuals and teams. Jen received her Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University and her Master’s of Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.

Peter Wexler joined Newmont in March 2024 leading the company's legal, compliance and regulatory affairs globally. Peter is a seasoned legal and risk management leader with more than three decades of international experience, including managing legal, risk, compliance, M&A, antitrust, litigation and corporate governance affairs within the industrial, technology, energy management, engineering, manufacturing and construction sectors. Before joining Newmont, he served as Chief Legal Officer at Schneider Electric, a Global 500 business, for 15 years and earned numerous accolades, including M&A Advisors Top Business Development Professionals of the Year in 2020 and Financial Times Top 20 General Counsel in 2022. Prior to that, Peter served as in-house counsel overseeing legal, risk and compliance at various companies, including American Power Conversion Corporation. Peter holds a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law and a B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of Vermont. 

Peter brings to Newmont more than 25 years of leadership experience working in the resources industry across various commodities. Peter has held senior strategic, commercial, and operational roles across Europe, Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom with Rio Tinto, BHP, and OM Holdings. Most recently, Peter led Rio Tinto’s corporate strategy as Group Executive, Strategy and Development, with accountability for business development/M&A, strategic partnerships, climate and sustainability strategy, closure, and exploration. Toth joined Rio Tinto in 2014 as Global Head of Strategy and became Head of Corporate Development in 2015. He established Rio’s current corporate strategy team, streamlined Rio’s commodity and asset portfolio, and led the development of Rio’s 10-year climate strategy, supporting the company’s ambition of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Prior to joining Rio Tinto, Toth was Chief Executive of the ASX-listed OM Holdings Ltd. (OMH), an integrated manganese and ferro-silicon company with global mining, smelting, and trading operations. He is noteworthy for strengthening OMH’s operational and financial performance. Toth began his career with BHP in 1994, where, over the course of 15 years, he held a series of roles of increasing responsibility and scope. Peter holds a Bachelor of Business degree from Monash University, a Graduate Certificate in Management from Deakin University, and a Master of International Business degree from the University of Melbourne, in addition to executive development programs at INSEAD, Stanford and Oxford University.

Francois Hardy was promoted to Chief Technology Officer in May 2024, after previously serving as Senior Vice President, Exploration since February 2022. Prior to this role he served as Regional Senior Vice President, Africa since 2019. Prior to that he served as Regional Project Director for Newmont Australia and as the General Manager of Tanami gold mine where he led a team responsible for improving the operation into a Tier 1 asset. He joined Newmont in 2002 and over his tenure has held a number of roles in Global Program Management, Business Excellence, Technical Services and Senior Site leadership roles at several Newmont assets in Australia. Prior to Newmont, Francois held positions at Avmin Ltd and De Beers Consolidated Mines. Francois holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mine Engineering from Technikon Witwatersrand, as well as Management Certificate of Competencies for Western Australia and South Africa.