Chief of Staff
The world depends on rare earth elements for the permanent magnets that underpin the modern economy, defense, and the energy transition. Permanent magnets are critical to nearly every modern industrial application: medical equipment, electric motors, wind turbines, defense systems, computers, audiovisual equipment, robotics, aerospace, and beyond. More than 90 percent of production is in Chinese hands. Energy Fuels is building the counterweight: an integrated Western supply chain from mine to magnet. From a new European office in The Hague, Energy Fuels is looking for a Chief of Staff to help build this division.
About Energy Fuels
Permanent magnets are indispensable. They are in every electric motor, every wind turbine, every F-35. Their raw material, rare earth elements, is more than 90 percent produced in China. Energy Fuels, originally the largest uranium mining company in the United States, recognized that dependency early and decided to act. The company is building a fully integrated Western supply chain: from mining in Brazil, Africa, and Australia, via the only operating facility in North America for processing radioactive ore, in Utah, to metal production in Korea and the recently acquired Vacuumschmelze, the only Western producer of permanent magnets, with plants in Germany, the US, Finland, Slovakia, and Malaysia. That acquisition alone represents a value of approximately 2 billion dollars.
Energy Fuels is a publicly listed company with a market capitalization of approximately 3.5 to 5 billion dollars, on track toward an expected value of well over 30 billion once the full chain is operational. The organization is small, fast, and American in its entrepreneurial culture: act first, then adjust. The new division for rare earth elements and magnets will become the largest and commercially most decisive part of the company. The division is led from a new office in The Hague. Once the Vacuumschmelze acquisition has closed, a regular share of the working time will also be spent in Frankfurt.
Requirements*
- Senior-level background in strategy consulting (MBB or comparable) or investment banking, or comparable analytical and project leadership experience
- Native-level fluency in English, with cultural fluency in the Anglo-Saxon business world
- Familiar with German business culture
- Proven ability to independently lead complex projects from start to finish in an international, unstructured environment
- Internationally flexible: willing and able to travel regularly (US, Germany, Asia)
- Based in the Randstad
- Interest in geopolitics, commodity markets, and the energy transition
Research shows that while male candidates feel confident enough to apply when they meet about 60% of the requirements, female candidates only apply when they tick every box. So if this role has your name on it, but you’re not sure about the criteria, we still want to hear from you.
“You get a rare opportunity to help build a multinational geostrategic company from the ground up, while contributing to the strategic independence of the West.”
Chief of Staff
The Executive Vice President Metals, Alloys & Magnets leads the new division for rare earth elements and permanent magnets from The Hague. He reports to the CEO in Denver and operates in a world of geopolitical tension, commercial complexity, and cultural diversity that few other roles can match. The Chief of Staff works directly alongside him: not as an assistant, but as a true enabler, sparring partner, and project leader. Everything on the EVP's plate lands on the Chief of Staff’s plate too, from the integration of Vacuumschmelze and the building of a new leadership team to government engagement in Washington, Berlin, Brussels, or Asia.
The Chief of Staff 's agenda is broad and moves with what is happening. One moment it is about preparing board materials for Denver, the next about an internal meeting on the integration of the Korean metal plant or a substantive exploration of commercial questions on the magnet side. The role does not demand an extreme number of travel days, but it does require the flexibility to be there when it matters: a conference in Washington, a meeting in Hanau, a visit to an asset in Australia. The common thread is proactively anticipating what is needed, independently giving diverse projects a head and a tail, and switching between an American entrepreneurial culture and a European technical world. Those who struggle with ambiguity will find this hard. Those who thrive on it will find a stage without equal.
The analytical sharpness and project discipline of a senior strategy consultant or investment banker are the starting point, combined with the extraversion and cultural intelligence to operate at every level: from engineers in Hanau to board members in Denver. The substance of rare earth elements and magnets can be learned. What cannot be learned is the capacity to make sound decisions in an unstructured environment, the resilience to sustain that day after day, and the personality to be a true counterpart to someone who rarely sits still.
What sets this role apart from every other Chief of Staff profiles on the market is the combination of timing and context. Energy Fuels stands at the start of a transformation that, if it succeeds, will produce one of the most strategically relevant companies in the West. The division being built now will become the company’s largest revenue generator. The Chief of Staff is there from day one, in an office still to be furnished, alongside a leader who travels the world and needs someone who thinks along, moves along, and acts along. Equity participation is part of the package. For an experienced consultant, banker, or comparable profile ready for a role with real geopolitical impact, this is precisely that moment.
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