Speakers' presentations will soon be made available

Program – World Materials Forum 2026

4 september 2026 – Paris, France – School of Mines

08.35 AM > 08.45 AM

Opening Speech

Victoire de Margerie – WMF Co Founder (France)

08.45 AM > 09.45 AM

Facts and Figures on Critical Minerals

Christophe Poinssot – Deputy CEO BRGM (France)

> WMF2026-Opening-Session-Christophe-Poinssot-BRGM.pdf

Rebecca Gordon – Former CEO CRU Consulting (UK)

> WMF2026-Opening-Session-Rebecca-Gordon-CRU-Consulting.pdf

Frank Bekaert – Senior Partner Metals and Mining, McKinsey (Belgium)

> WMF2026-Opening-Session-Franck-Bekaert-McKinsey.pdf

Peter Godart – Founder, President & CEO Found Industries (USA)

> WMF2026-Opening-Session-Peter-Godart-Found-Industries.pdf

Moderators

Victoire de Margerie – WMF Co Founder (France)

> WMF2026-Opening-Session-key-messages.pdf

Mahé Auch Roy – WMF Executive Board Co Chair (Canada)

09.45 AM > 10.15 AM

Firechat on Critical Minerals Directions

Mikael Staffas – CEO Boliden (Sweden)

> WMF2026-PS1-Mikael-Staffas-Boliden.pdf

James Litinsky – CEO MP Materials (USA)

Moderator

Victoire de Margerie – WMF Co Founder (France)

10.45 AM > 11.10 AM

Special Keynote

Bangaly Maty – Advisor Prime Minister (Guinea)

11.10 AM > 12.40 PM

AI Along Critical Materials Supply Chain: From Exploration to Recycling

Bernd Schäfer – CEO EIT Raw Materials, Co Chair (EU)

Bronwyn Fox – Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research UNSW (Australia)

Dmitry Belov – Chief Scientist, Prologium (Taiwan)

Vincent Colegrave – Global Head AI Transformation Syensqo (Belgique)

Preston Bryant – CEO Founder Momentum Technologies (USA)

Matti Hietanen – CEO Finnish Minerals Group, Co Chair (Finland)

Moderator

Greg Mulholland – WMF Executive Board (USA), Co Chair

02.05 PM > 02.30 PM

Special Keynote

Laurent Frescaline – Founder & Head of Technology I-Pulse (France)

> WMF2026-Keynote-Laurent-frescaline-Ipulse.pdf

02.30 PM > 04.00 PM

Energy, Materials and Technologies for Data Storage and Usage

Nicolas Maes – CEO Orano, Co Chair (France)

Jason Feist – Senior Vice President Seagate (USA)

Daniel Gheno – Senior Vice President Schneider Electric (France)

Mickael Mauger – Director of Engineering GridBlock (USA)

Hervé Beuffe – CEO Tiamat Energy (France)

Pierre Desjardins – CEO C12 (France)

Sam Riggall – CEO Sunrise Energy Metals, Co Chair (Australia)

Moderator

Stéphane Mangin – WMF Executive Board, Co Chair (France)

04.30 PM > 05.55 PM

Aluminium, Steel and Cement: Where Do We Stand on Decarbonization

Jérôme Pécresse – CEO Rio Tinto Aluminium & Lithium, Co Chair (Canada)

Guy Sidos – CEO Vicat, Co Chair (France)

> WMF2026-PS4-Guy-Sidos-Vicat.pdf

Cody Finke – CEO Brimstone Energy (USA)

Johan Menckel – CEO LKAB, Co Chair (Sweden)

> WMF2026-PS4-Johan-Menckel-LKAB.pdf

José Noldin – CEO GravitHy (France)

> WMF2026-PS4-Jose-Noldin-gravithy.pdf

Moderator

Philippe Varin – WMF Co Founder (France)

05.55 PM > 06.20 PM

Special Keynote

Shunichi Miyanaga – Honorary Advisor MHI (Japan)

> WMF-2026-keynote-Shunichi-Miyanaga.pdf

06.20 PM > 06.30 PM

Closing remarks

Philippe Varin – WMF Co Founder (France)


07.30 PM

Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner