Jaco Hugo

Jaco Hugo is an experienced Program Director currently leading the Winu copper-gold project at Rio Tinto, focusing on building relationships with Traditional Owners in Western Australia. Prior to this role, Jaco held multiple senior positions at De Beers Group over two decades, including Head of Project Global & Upstream Business Transformation, where Jaco drove the digital transformation of mining operations. Jaco’s career includes significant contributions as Head of Asset & Project Performance, Head of Projects, and Group Lead for Engineering & Projects, emphasizing strategic management and operational efficiency across various major projects. Additionally, Jaco has expertise in automation and information engineering, having served as Group Head in that domain. Jaco began their career at Anglovaal Minerals, where diverse technical and managerial roles led to the successful turnaround of an underperforming gold plant. Jaco holds an MBA from Henley Business School and a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Stellenbosch University.