Dr Abednego KB Chigwada is an accomplished Environmental, Health, Safety, and Risk Executive with over 25 years’ experience spanning mining, manufacturing, government, and essential services across Southern Africa and Australia. He holds a PhD in the Management of Technology and Innovation, with research focused on human factors and operational performance in high-risk environments. Dr Chigwada has led transformative WHSE programs in mining giants such as Zimplats and Rio Tinto Zimbabwe, embedding critical risk management frameworks and psychological safety practices. As a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a Certified Risk Management Professional, he is passionate about integrating systems thinking and indigenous philosophies like Ubuntu to advance sustainable safety cultures. Dr Chigwada is currently a Director, supporting organisations to build resilient, high-performing workforces grounded in wellbeing and shared purpose.

Karen Mwanja Tembo is an Environmental Engineer and mining safety specialist who recently completed her Master’s in Risk Management. As Senior Regional Manager at Bridging Gap Solutions (BGS), she now leads the development of tech-driven solutions to advance health and safety for miners across Africa. Karen built her expertise leading Critical Control Management (CCM) implementation across one of Africa’s largest mining operations, supporting 11,000+ employees and contractors, strengthening high-risk controls, improving verification practices, and helping prevent fatalities and serious injuries. Her background spans critical control verification, TFD assessments, root cause investigation, fatigue management, and data-driven behaviour change campaigns, including notable hand-injury and risk reduction programs. She has also worked extensively on digitalising risk visibility and prioritisation across large operations, and has collaborated with Founders Factory Africa and UNDP on sustainability and circular-economy research. Grounded in technical rigor and frontline engagement, Karen is now channeling that experience into scalable technology solutions that make mines safer across Africa.

Alex is a Senior Engineer with AMOG Consulting. Alex has been involved in process safety projects spanning multiple industries in areas including Quantitative and Semi Quantitative Risk Assessment, Hazardous Area Classification, Reliability-Centred-Maintenance (RCM) Analysis and Functional Safety Engineering.

Dr. Charan Kumar Ala serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Mining Engineering at National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India, specializing in mine safety and occupational health hazards. Holding a Ph.D. (2019) on "Qualitative and quantitative approches for evalation of safety risk in Indian mines"from NIT Rourkela, M.Engg. in Information and Network Security from University of Limerick, Ireland (2011), and B.Tech. in Mining Engineering from University College of Engineering, Kothagudem (2008), he bridges engineering and safety research.

Hary Irmawan was born in Jakarta and holds a Bachelor of Mining Engineering from the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Indonesia, obtained in 2001. He currently serves as President Director of PT DAHANA, appointed under the Decree of the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises of the Republic of Indonesia No. SK-304/MBU/12/2024 dated 16 December 2024. Hary Irmawan has more than 20 years of experience in metalliferous open-pit mining and sedimentary (coal) deposits, with operational and technical leadership roles across Indonesia, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Botswana, Australia, Eritrea and Malaysia. Prior to his current appointment, he served as Head of Mining Technical Services at PT Archi Indonesia Tbk and Mine Manager (KTT) at PT Tambang Tondano Nusajaya between 2020 and 2022. From 2022 to 2024, he held the position of Chief Operating Officer and Kepala Teknik Tambang at PT Gorontalo Minerals.