Barbara Humpton to retire; Michael Blitzer named executive chairman
USA Rare Earth said Monday that Moraitis will take over as CEO on Oct. 1, following the anticipated completion of the combination with Serra Verde. Humpton, who has been with USA Rare Earth for less than a year after joining last October from Siemens USA, will retire from the company and its board at that time.
Moraitis has been CEO of Serra Verde since January 2023 and helped build the miner into what the company described as the only large-scale producer of the four critical rare earths outside Asia, the company said. He will also become president of USA Rare Earth and join its board.
The company named Michael Blitzer, the current board chair, as executive chairman, effective immediately.
USA Rare Earth agreed in April to acquire Serra Verde, which owns a rare-earth mine and processing plant in Brazil, in a combination of cash and stock. The deal, valued at about $2.8 billion, is expected to close by the end of August. The acquisition bolsters the company’s mine-to-magnets supply chain at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China over critical minerals.
Humpton, the outgoing CEO and former CEO of Siemens USA, helped the company secure public-private partnerships that established a global footprint including critical processing, metals and magnet capabilities, according to the company.