Hillgrove Resources Limited (ASX: HGO) has appointed Drew Simonsen as Managing Director, who has been interim Chief Executive Officer since 1st July 2010.

Simonsen has 35 years of finance and resources industry experience and is a non-executive director of Highlands Pacific Limited (ASX: HIG).

His previous experience has included positions with Westpac Banking Corporation where he worked for 17 years, lastly as Global Head of Energy & Resources, Telecommunications & IT, and also including roles in Project Finance, Infrastructure Finance and Corporate Advisory.

Prior to Westpac, he worked for Bank of America in Australia, the USA and Hong Kong for 10 years including roles as Vice President Project Finance, Vice President Capital Markets, Director Investment Banking, Director Corporate Banking and Director Financial Markets.

He has been involved with many resource and infrastructure project financings in Australia and North America. Prior to his banking career, Drew worked for five years for CRA (now Rio Tinto) in mining engineering roles at Broken Hill, NSW.

Dean Brown, chairman, said “the Board has selected Mr Simonsen on the basis of his demonstrable skills and experience, and believes he is clearly the best candidate to take the company through the challenge of financing and developing the Kanmantoo Copper Mines project in South Australia, as well as progressing the opportunities in Indonesia and elsewhere in the company in the medium term.”

Simonsen said “my first priority, as it has been since joining some weeks ago, is to get the financing for Kanmantoo locked away so we can commence construction in earnest. I believe it is very important that we focus on relatively few initiatives, and execute them very well.”