Who is Benedikt Sobotka?

Benedikt Sobotka is the CEO of Eurasian Resources Group. The company is a leading diversified natural resources producer.

The corporation is headquartered in Luxembourg and is represented by more than 85 thousand people around the globe.

Mr Sobotka holds a Master’s degree in management from the Otto Beisheim School of Management in Vallendar, and speaks German, English, Russian, and French.

Employment

Prior to his current role, Mr Sobotka worked at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), advising multiple leading companies globally within the natural resources sector. By 2011 he had left BCG to start his own company, Bryanston Resources, which offered consultancy services in the raw materials sector. By 2013 the firm had already established itself in 10 different locations and employed about 100 people.

During the same time, Benedikt began focusing on innovation and technology within the natural resources sector. Thus, he founded Mineral Values Service which he later sold to Platts (Dow Jones) in 2015.

Managing the Eurasian Resources Group

In 2014 Benedikt Sobotka became the CEO of Eurasian Resources Group – the role consisted of developing a new vision for the company’s future.

Under Benedikt’s leadership, the Group also garnered new partnerships with Chinese companies as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The Initiative was presented by the Chinese government in order to develop relations and cooperation between countries and to provide sustainable development of their economies. To that end, the Group has been working with a number of Chinese partners in Kazakhstan, countries in Africa and Brazil as part of the BRI.

Under Benedikt’s leadership, the Group has been doing a major business transformation and driving sustainability initiatives.

Working with the World Economic Forum

The Group’s membership at the World Economic Forum came shortly after Benedikt’s appointment, and soon after ERG established itself as a Strategic Partner Associate of the organisation. In 2017 Benedikt Sobotka helped launch – together with other leading companies – the Global Battery Alliance, a World Economic Forum initiative aimed at developing a responsible lithium-ion battery supply chain.

ERG is also part of the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), another key initiative of the World Economic Forum.

Additional information about Benedikt Sobotka

Benedikt also takes an active role in other main activities of the World Economic Forum. He is a Steward of the Shaping the Future of Economic Progress system, a co-chair of the Forum’s Next Generation of Leaders – Industry Transformation Group for Mining and Metals and sits on the Governors Steering Committee for the Metals and Mining Community.

Benedikt co-authored “China Champions”, a Financial Times publication. He is particularly interested in international, CIS and East Asian geopolitical relations.