Debra Bakker is an experienced financier and non-executive director in the natural resources industry, with significant international experience in project finance, corporate advisory, mergers and acquisitions.
She began her international investment banking career at Barclays in Sydney, before moving to London to join the natural resources team as mining project finance originator/transactor. After 5 years with Barclays London, mainly working on North American deals structured for Latin American and African projects, Ms Bakker moved to Chicago to head up Standard Bank's US Corporate Finance team. Several years later, she opened Standard's Australian Representative office in Sydney.
In 2000, Ms Bakker moved to New York to join (what is now) an arm of Sungard Sytems helping to design, test and sell their online risk management platform for commodities. In 2003, she established the natural resources team for Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Western and held a number of senior roles over a 10-year period culminating as executive manager, head of mining and metals origination.
Ms Bakker is the West Australian representative for Auramet Trading, a New York-based metals trading firm specialising in the purchase and sale of precious metals.