Building the Foundations of a Stronger Nation

Mayer Gniwisch is a lifelong entrepreneur whose ventures span five continents and multiple industries. He began his business journey in the diamond trade in South Africa, where he gained an early understanding of value, trust, and international commerce. Leveraging his success, he launched and invested in dozens of companies across sectors—from industrial recycling and e-commerce to mining, real estate, and venture capital.

Among his notable achievements is founding Florida Wood Recycling, which became the largest waste management and recycling facility in South Florida. In the early 2000s, Mayer broke new ground in digital commerce by launching Ice.com, the world’s leading online jewelry platform at the time, which he successfully exited in 2007.

Mayer has played a key role in multiple mining ventures, including gold and diamond extraction, and led the development of a cutting-edge 50-megawatt tire-to-energy facility. He also co-founded Olive Tree Ventures, a $175 million fund that has backed over a dozen breakthrough startups in the digital health and biotech space. His real estate portfolio spans large-scale residential and commercial developments across North America, Israel, and beyond.

With a global outlook and a deep-rooted entrepreneurial spirit, Mayer brings vision, velocity, and values to every endeavor. He lives in Montreal with his wife Neomi, their eight children, and eighteen grandchildren—who continue to inspire his passion for building a better future.

Arthur Aloco is a distinguished legal, regulatory, and public-sector leader with deep expertise across Côte d’Ivoire and France. He holds a Maîtrise in Private Law (Business Law), a Licence in Private Law, and a DESS in Applied Taxation from Université de Paris XII, and honed his English in France from 1993 to 1995.

He has served as Associate Director in legal & tax advisory (SCP Kalart Conseil, Abidjan) since 2012; CEO of Côte d’Ivoire’s National IT Development Authority (2020–2021); and Deputy in Côte d’Ivoire’s National Assembly (2017–2021), where he was a member of the Economic and Financial Affairs Commission. Earlier posts include Director General of Telecommunications Regulation (2010–2012), and in-house counsel at Côte d’Ivoire Telecom and Orange Côte d’Ivoire (2005–2010). Arthur also lectured in corporate and wealth taxation at Université de Cocody (2006–2016), and served as Legal & Tax Director and Board Secretary for Mobil across West and Central Africa (1996–2005).

With over 30 years in mining operations, engineering, and project development, Steve has led mine builds on three continents—spanning copper, gold, lead, zinc, lithium, fluorspar, tin, chromite, tungsten, coal, diamonds, indium, and gallium. He began with Goldfields of South Africa and DRA Mineral Projects, then moved to Canada in 1999 to lead mineral-processing initiatives at Lakefield Research (later SGS). In 2004, he founded a boutique engineering firm that was later acquired by DRA Global, marking their North American debut. Steve has overseen major mine developments including the Karma Gold Mine in Burkina Faso and Newfoundland’s St. Lawrence Fluorspar Mine. He also co-founded Integer Resources (lithium recovery/recycling) and Lakefield Gold Intelligence (AI-driven mineral analytics).

Baruch is a seasoned agribusiness executive with a proven track record in driving innovation, operational excellence, and sustainability. With deep roots in large-scale farming, food systems, and agri-tech, he specializes in optimizing crop yield, supply chain transformation, and rural development across diverse climates. Baruch has led multi-disciplinary teams in implementing modern agricultural techniques and strengthening partnerships with government, research institutions, and private-sector stakeholders. Based between North America and Africa, he is committed to scaling local impact through advanced agronomy and community-focused value chains.

Yankie is a seasoned brand strategist and creative director with global experience launching, growing, and repositioning brands across industries. Trained in design and brand strategy at Shillington College in Manchester, he began his career at top-tier agencies across North America before founding BlinkTwice—his own creative consultancy.

Through BlinkTwice, Yankie has led the brand development of 5-star luxury resorts in Turks & Caicos, built go-to-market strategies for high-end e-commerce and consumer goods, and shaped the identities of some of the world’s most influential Web3 brands, including Decrypt and Rug Radio. His work has earned recognition from leading strategists and marketing leaders worldwide. At Empire Industries, he brings a rare mix of creative instinct and business fluency to shape a brand ecosystem built for influence, impact, and scale.