Management

Dr. Hâkan Tarras-Wahlberg
Managing Director
(BSc Hons. Geology, MPhil Environment and Development, PhD Geography)

Hâkan joined Swedish Geological in 1997 and has been responsible for the business since 2001. He has extensive international experience of leading mining sector development projects and projects related to environmental, social and socio-economic issues in the natural resource sectors. Prior to joining SGAB, Hâkan conducted research on environmental and social impacts of mining and associated implications for policy and regulatory development. He is currently a part time researcher at the Stockholm School of Economics where he investigates what mining companies do to obtain a so called “social license to operate”. Håkan has also worked for the Swedish environmental protection agency and in diamond exploration.

Dr. Karl Westerlund
Technical Director
(BSc Hons. Geochemistry, MSc and PhD Geology)

Karl joined SGAB in 2004 and has been part of management since 2008. Since joining SGAB, he has had extensive experience leading and participating as an expert in multi-disciplinary mineral sector development projects. His consulting roles have been wide-ranging, eg. strategic mineral sector assessments; policy, legal and institutional development; countrywide environmental and social impact studies; monitoring and evaluation frameworks; geological assessments, and; mineral sector promotion. Karl is also involved in environmental and social impact assessments and mineral exploration work for the private sector. Prior to joining SGAB, Karl conducted research on the origin of kimberlites and diamonds at the University of Cape Town, and worked part-time as a project geologist and laboratory manager at the MS Group.