The Highland Group, a leading global business consulting firm, today announced the formal establishment of its Americas Mining Practice. Senior Partner Greg Peacock, a 25-year consulting industry veteran, will lead the new business unit. Since joining the firm in 2010, Greg has advanced Highland’s reputation in the mining sector by helping many of the world’s leading mining companies to achieve sustainable performance improvements in safety, throughput, productivity, cost, capital project management, contractor management and working capital.
The Highland Group has an impressive 20-year record of driving operational execution and behavioral change in mining organizations around the world. Over the last four years alone, The Highland Group’s senior consultants and industry experts have delivered more than $1 billion in mining client benefits. Building on its best-in-class capabilities and reputation, The Highland Group has formally established the Americas Mining Practice to serve the mining industry in North and South America. The practice will encompass four core offerings: operational effectiveness, working capital utilization, capital project management and safety.
“We’ve developed our mining industry capabilities over many years and in virtually every corner of the globe,” said Peacock. “Formally establishing the Americas Mining Practice is a logical next step in our evolution. The Highland Group is committing significant resources to this new business unit, and we are confident this vertical approach will position Highland for strong market share growth and continued value creation for our clients.”
The Highland Group has worked with leading mining and metals companies across a wide array of commodities, from precious metals to energy materials, including aluminum, bauxite, borates, coal, copper, diamonds, gold, iron ore, lead, nickel, oil sands, silver, steel, talc, titanium dioxide and zinc. The firm’s past engagements involved both open-cut and underground mining, as well as smelting, refining, extrusion and logistics. In addition to the Americas, The Highland Group serves mining clients in Africa, Australia, Central Asia and Europe.
“We plan to grow our mining presence in the Americas by leveraging our geographic footprint, developing our existing talent and attracting the best new talent,” said Peacock. “Establishing the new business unit is especially timely as the need for our services is rising in conjunction with the mining sector’s intensifying challenges. The Highland Group’s combination of global experience and local understanding in mining makes us ideally suited to capitalize on these market opportunities.”
Launch of the new mining practice complements The Highland Group’s other recent initiatives in the Americas. The firm announced relocation of its Americas base to Miami in May, and launched a Canadian business unit headquartered in Toronto in June. The firm has also expanded its office in São Paulo, Brazil.