USA Rare Earth 宣布 CEO 将于 10 月退休并由 Serra Verde 现任 CEO 接任

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USA Rare Earth Announces Leadership Transition

Jul 20, 2026

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Barbara Humpton to retire and Thras Moraitis to become CEO, both effective October 1, 2026
Michael Blitzer elected Executive Chairman, effective immediately
STILLWATER, Okla., July 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- USA Rare Earth, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAR) (“USAR”, “USA Rare Earth”, or the “Company”), announced today that Barbara Humpton will retire as Chief Executive Officer and Board Director on October 1, 2026. USAR’s Board of Directors has named Thras Moraitis, current CEO of the Serra Verde Group (“Serra Verde”) and a highly experienced operator in the rare earths industry, as Ms. Humpton’s successor. Mr. Moraitis will assume the CEO role on October 1, 2026, following the anticipated completion of USAR’s combination with Serra Verde by the end of August. During the interim period, Mr. Moraitis will continue to oversee the combined company’s operations as President.
Michael Blitzer, current Chairman of USAR's Board and significant shareholder in the Company, has been elected Executive Chairman, effective immediately. Since its public listing, he has played a central role in setting USAR’s strategic direction, anchoring its vision to build a global mine-to-magnet value chain and identifying organic and inorganic growth opportunities. He also helped lead USAR’s efforts to obtain U.S. government financing, including by personally agreeing to restrictions on the transfer of his USAR common stock until certain strategic funding release milestones under the government financing are satisfied.
Ms. Humpton has been instrumental in steering USAR’s mine-to-magnet strategy, overseeing company milestones that have fundamentally transformed the Western critical minerals landscape. Under her leadership, USAR secured landmark public-private partnerships and established a global footprint spanning critical processing, metals, and magnet capabilities. She has also helped establish a culture that attracts the best and brightest minds across the sector.
Mr. Moraitis has served as Chief Executive Officer of Serra Verde since January 2023 and has an unparalleled track record of operational execution, strategic development and transaction leadership in the rare earths sector. Over his tenure, Serra Verde transformed into the only large-scale producer of the four critical magnetic rare earths outside of Asia and a pioneer of the Brazilian rare earths sector. In April 2026, Serra Verde entered into a definitive agreement to combine with USAR, creating a platform to support the first fully integrated, Western mine-to-magnet supply chain. Prior to Serra Verde, Mr. Moraitis served on the Executive Committee of Xstrata, led by CEO Sir Mick Davis, where he and the team grew Xstrata into a US$65B company, ultimately selling it to Glencore in 2013.
”On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank Barbara for her leadership and contributions to USA Rare Earth – including securing landmark public-private agreements, advancing our global mine-to-magnet strategy and building an exceptional portfolio of industry leading assets,” said Michael Blitzer, Executive Chairman of USA Rare Earth’s Board of Directors. “With the Serra Verde combination nearing completion and our overall focus shifting to execution, Barbara and the Board agree this is the right time for a leadership transition. Thras is among a rare group of leaders in this industry, with a proven record of carrying companies through integration and large-scale project execution, honed over his many years helping build Xstrata. He knows what it takes to build an industry champion, and his relentless focus on operational excellence will be invaluable as we ramp to full production and scale. We are confident Thras is the right leader to guide USAR through this pivotal next chapter and deliver lasting value for all our stakeholders."
“When I joined USAR, I said this work was about being part of a mission that matters: strengthening national security, advancing American industrial competitiveness and building the critical supply chains required for the future,” said Ms. Humpton. “With the close of the Serra Verde transaction approaching and focus shifting to execution, the Board and I agree this is the right time to pass the torch to Thras. I could not be more grateful to the USAR team for what we have built, and the Board and our partners for their collaboration and commitment to those efforts. I look forward to supporting Thras and the team, and watching them execute on the transformative work that lies ahead.”
Mr. Moraitis concluded, “I am honored and excited to take on this role and grateful to Barbara for the strong foundation she has built. Over the past year, under Barbara’s leadership, the company has been transformed into a leading rare earth platform with enormous potential for growth. Through the merger integration preparation, I have become deeply familiar with USAR's operations across all steps in the value chain, its mission-critical ambitions and the importance of what it is building. Mike, the Board and I are all closely aligned in our vision for USAR: to create a platform comprising all components of the rare earth value chain, with the scale and capabilities to lead this industry globally. The rare earth industry and our customers are facing the unprecedented challenge of building secure, integrated supply chains to power the vital technologies propelling our society forward. Together, with our team and partners around the world, we will rise to this challenge.”
Additional Details About Thras Moraitis
Prior to joining Serra Verde in 2023, Mr. Moraitis served as Chief Development Officer and a member of the Executive Board of EuroChem Group AG. Mr. Moraitis was also a co-founder of X2 Resources, a US$5.6B mining investment fund. He previously served as Group Head of Strategy and Corporate Affairs and as a member of the Executive Committee of Xstrata Plc, where he was responsible for strategic development, post-acquisition integration, leadership development, external affairs and investor relations as well as Xstrata’s technology business. He has been involved in approximately 40 transactions over the course of his career and currently serves as an advisor to Vision Blue Resources. Mr. Moraitis holds an honors BSc in Electrical Engineering, a postgraduate qualification in Computer Science and an MBA.
About Michael Blitzer
Michael Blitzer is a Founder and Managing Partner of Inflection Point, the leading financial sponsor of companies at the intersection of national security, technology, and critical infrastructure. Across eight announced or closed public listings, he has led Inflection Point’s portfolio of strategically important assets, including more than US$5B of capital raised to catalyze growth across the portfolio. He has led billions of dollars in strategic M&A to scale portfolio companies into public leaders in their respective industries. As the financial sponsor and Chairman of USA Rare Earth since its 2025 public listing, Mr. Blitzer has overseen a nearly tenfold increase in market capitalization through M&A and the landmark US$1.6B public-private partnership with the United States Government.
About USA Rare Earth, Inc.
USA Rare Earth, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAR) is building a fully integrated rare earth and permanent magnet value chain across the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as plans for expansion in France and Brazil. Through its ownership of Less Common Metals (LCM), one of the world’s leading producers of rare earth metals and alloys, its magnet manufacturing capacity in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the planned acquisition of the Pela Ema mine in Brazil (subject to closing the Serra Verde Group transaction) and the Round Top deposit in Texas, USA Rare Earth operates across the entire value chain from mining to