Mark Bula is a steel industry veteran with more than three decades of experience across the US, Europe, and the Middle East.

He held a leadership role early on in his career at Nucor, which is recognised as one of the most successful turnaround stories in the history of American steel.

Mark also served as a founding executive and Chief Commercial Officer at Big River Steel, which disrupted the US steel industry by operating the world’s first “flex mill”, combining mini-mill technology with the ability to produce high-end automotive and electrical steels.

Through his career, Mark’s other positions have included serving as CEO of Vulcan Green Steel, CCO of H2 Green Steel. He also held leadership roles at Everguard.ai, the Steel Tube Institute of North America, and National Steel.

Mark holds an MBA in International Business from the University of Toledo and a BSBA in Industrial Marketing from Robert Morris University

David Morant is an experienced executive with more than twenty years of infrastructure finance, investment banking, and capital markets.

Previously, he directed capital markets and strategic initiatives at Scorpio Group, building global tanker and wind turbine installation vessel businesses.

His career spans senior roles at JP Morgan, Soros Fund, and Manulife, with expertise across maritime, materials, and industrial assets.

David combines deep experience in Series A fundraising, structured finance, and portfolio management to deliver large-scale equity and debt financings.

He holds an MA (Oxon) in History and Economics from Magdalen College, Oxford.

Jaap is a senior commercial leader with over 35 years of experience in building and scaling industrial businesses across Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

He has extensive expertise in sales, sourcing, and strategy across the steel and wider industrial sectors.

Previously, Jaap led business development at Vulcan Green Steel, where he developed the customer and product portfolio, marketing, pricing, logistics, and enablers for a 5 Mt hydrogen-based steel startup in Oman.

Jaap has also held senior leadership positions at NLMK, Tata Steel, Corus Staal, Cargill, and DSM Hydrocarbons.

He is a graduate of the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Viktor Forss is a business and operational leader with over 20 years of experience delivering and scaling complex industrial and energy projects across the Nordics and Europe. He has held executive and managing director level roles with full responsibility for strategy, commercial performance, organisational development and project delivery.

At Blastr Green Steel, he has been central to building the company from inception and now leads delivery and development of Europe’s first integrated ultra-low CO₂ steel value chain across Finland and the UK.

Prior to joining Blastr, Viktor held Managing Director and senior leadership roles at VEO Group, where he was responsible for large‑scale industrial and energy infrastructure projects, P&L performance, and organisational growth.

Viktor holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Hanken School of Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Novia University of Applied Sciences.

Antti Kaikkonen is Country Manager for Finland at BGS, leading the development of the company’s ultra-low carbon steel plant project in Finland. He has more than 20 years of experience across energy markets, industrial electrification, project development, and the green transition of heavy industry.

Prior to joining Blastr, Antti spent nearly two decades at Fortum, where he held several senior leadership positions covering industrial electrification, strategy, research and development, generation, and energy markets. In his most recent role as Vice President of Industrial Electrification, he worked closely with energy-intensive industries to advance decarbonisation and large-scale sustainable energy solutions.

Throughout his career, Antti has been involved in strategic development, infrastructure planning, stakeholder engagement, and industrial transformation projects across the Nordic energy sector. His experience combines technical expertise with commercial and financial insight, particularly within power markets and industrial sustainability.

He holds Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Helsinki University of Technology and Finance from the Helsinki School of Economics.

Dr. Mikael Lindvall is Chief Technology Officer at BGS, where he leads the company’s technology strategy and development of low-carbon iron and steel production solutions, including the pellet plant project in the UK and the ultra-low CO₂ steel plant in Finland.

He has close to 20 years of international experience across metallurgy, steelmaking technologies, and industrial decarbonisation. Prior to joining Blastr, Mikael worked as Technology Specialist at AFRY, supporting the development and due diligence of low-carbon steel projects globally. Before that, he held senior project and research positions at SSAB and Swerim, where he contributed to hydrogen-based steelmaking pilots and advanced metallurgical research programmes.

Mikael combines deep technical expertise with extensive experience in pilot, demonstration, and industrial-scale project execution. His work has focused on advancing next-generation steelmaking technologies, recycling solutions, and fossil-free production pathways for the global metals industry.

He holds a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Luleå University of Technology and a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Process Science from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Mikael has also received industry recognition including the AFRY Best Project Award and the TMS Best Paper Award.

Carina Hedberg is Head of Finance International and Business Development at BGS where she works across strategic growth initiatives, financing, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement. She brings more than two decades of international experience spanning finance, renewable energy, governance, and sustainable industrial transformation.

Before joining Blastr, Carina served as Partner and Director at KPMG Finland, where she founded and led the International Development Advisory Services practice. During her tenure, she delivered more than 100 international projects focused on sustainability, governance, public finance, and economic development. She also held leadership positions with KPMG South Africa and worked extensively across emerging markets, mobilising significant investment into renewable energy and green economy initiatives.

Carina combines financial, operational, and sustainability expertise with broad international leadership experience. Earlier in her career, she held senior finance and advisory roles within industry and public sector organisations, including the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

She holds an Executive MBA from Henley Business School and a Master’s degree in Business and Economics from Åbo Akademi University.

Debbie Davel is a Chartered Accountant (South Africa) with more than twenty years of experience, including senior executive leadership as Chief Financial Officer.

She spent over two decades with Grindrod Shipping, where she held progressively senior finance, treasury and systems roles before being appointed CFO of Grindrod Shipping Holdings. During her tenure, she built deep expertise across financial control, treasury management, systems development and strategic project delivery within a complex global shipping business.

As CFO, she was responsible for finance, IT and corporate secretarial functions across multiple jurisdictions, including Singapore, the UK and South Africa. She led financial reporting to the Board and Audit and Risk Committee, managed NASDAQ and JSE listing and compliance requirements, and oversaw group-wide treasury, governance and ESG reporting initiatives. She also played a key role in negotiating and managing complex financing structures, including bank debt, mezzanine facilities and sale-and-leaseback arrangements with international financial partners.

Debbie has extensive experience in leading cross-functional strategic projects and driving operational discipline and financial performance across international teams.

Earlier in her career, she held finance roles in London, including Group Accountant at Keystone Solutions and Finance Manager within SEGA’s E-Commerce division, supporting listed-company reporting, financial control and M&A-related activities.

Debbie is a Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)) and a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

Patrick is a qualified solicitor and senior finance professional with over twenty years of experience in restructuring, asset management, and M&A. He has deep capital markets expertise across shipping, aviation, steel, real estate, PIF, and other asset classes.

Previously, he served as General Counsel at Taylor Maritime Investments, managing corporate legal matters, restructuring initiatives, and post-merger integration.

He has also held senior restructuring and legal advisory positions at Investec, Lloyds, Allco Finance Group, and Allen & Overy.

Patrick qualified as a Solicitor of England & Wales in 1995 and holds a BA in Politics and French from the University of Bristol.

Acting as Steel Acquisition Advisor to BSG, Mark is an experienced industrial executive and technology leader with more than 40 years of international experience across steelmaking, advanced manufacturing, operations, and business transformation. He has held senior leadership positions across major industrial businesses, combining technical expertise with commercial and operational management experience.

He advises companies within manufacturing and materials sectors, particularly steel and container glass industries. He also supports industry and academia through research collaboration and funding initiatives and serves as Visiting Professor at the University of South Wales and Aberystwyth University.

Previously, Mark held senior executive roles within Tata Steel, Corus, British Steel and Cogent Power, including Operations Director of Cogent Power and Managing Director of Surahammars Bruks in Sweden. He has led large-scale industrial operations, process modernisation programmes, and international growth initiatives across steel and advanced materials sectors.

Mark holds an MBA from Warwick Business School and a First-Class BSc (Hons) degree in Metallurgy and Microstructural Engineering from Sheffield City Polytechnic. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and has served on several industry and academic advisory boards.

Acting as Steel Acquisition Advisor to BSG, Patrick McFadden is a senior steel industry executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience across steel manufacturing, plate products, commercial strategy, and government affairs. He has extensive expertise in P&L management, market development, trade policy, and large-scale industrial operations.

Patrick spent the majority of his career with Nucor Corporation, where he held several senior leadership roles including General Manager of Nucor Skyline, Nucor Grating Canada, and Nucor Government Affairs. Throughout his career, he has led commercial growth strategies, overseen multi-site operations, managed national sales organisations, and played a key role in shaping U.S. steel trade policy and industry advocacy efforts.

He has also held commercial and leadership roles with United States Steel, Lukens Steel, Plate Steels Inc., and Ryerson, developing broad experience across steel plate products, distribution strategy, product development, and industrial markets throughout North America.

Patrick holds an MBA from Baldwin Wallace University and a BA in Philosophy from Cabrini College.