Appian Expands Critical Minerals Platform with Key Appointments

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Appian Capital Advisory Limited, an investment advisor to long-term value-focused private capital funds, has expanded its critical minerals platform with key appointments and a new Washington, D.C. base. The company aims to serve industrial and defense supply chains by building out its existing portfolio, which has a planned development capital of approximately $2.5 billion over the next five years.

Brian Greeley, formerly Senior Vice President and Chief Banking Officer of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer, Critical Minerals. Christopher Smith, former Chief Government Affairs Officer at Ford Motor Company, and Rear Admiral John Meier, U.S. Navy (Ret.), have joined as Senior Advisors. These appointments bring direct experience in export finance, industrial government affairs, public-private financing, and defense procurement, complementing Appian's in-house technical team.

The new hires will support Appian's global critical minerals portfolio, which includes cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, mineral sands, nickel, and rare earth assets. The portfolio includes Atlantic Strategic Minerals (ASM), a producing mineral sands operation and the largest minerals separation plant in North America, based in Virginia, U.S. Gippsland Critical Minerals (GCM) owns the advanced-stage Fingerboards Project in Victoria, Australia, with the potential to provide 7.1% of the global supply of the heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium (DyTb). Graphcoa and Allied Graphite, based in Brazil and the U.S. respectively, form a vertically integrated, mine-to-material graphite supply chain producing anode material for batteries. U.S. Strategic Metals (USSM) is building a fully integrated critical minerals recycling and production facility in the U.S., producing cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel.

Appian has a global team of approximately 100 experienced professionals, combining financial and technical expertise, with presences in London, Abu Dhabi, New York, Washington, D.C., Dubai, Belo Horizonte, Hong Kong, São Paulo, and Toronto. Since 2016, the company has brought 12 mining projects into production and grown a global operating portfolio overseeing more than 13,000 employees.

The appointments come as governments and industrial partners across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia work to diversify critical minerals supply chains. Multilateral initiatives and domestic policies reflect a broader international push to build secure, diversified sources of rare earths, battery materials, and industrial minerals that underpin industries supporting economic and national security.

Appian has approximately $5.0 billion in assets under management, supported by a team of approximately 100 experienced professionals, comprising geologists, engineers, and metallurgists, focused on identifying technically and financially viable mining projects and creating value at the asset level.