Ari Sussman is a busy man. He is the head of two major gold exploration ventures, acting as president and CEO of both Continental Gold and Colossus Minerals. Most people would have difficulty holding up one of those roles, but Ari seems to flourish when he's working his hardest.

Ari has more than 15 years of experience in the natural resource and junior investment sectors. He truly has an eye for identifying high-quality mineral assets, a statement supported by the two companies he now leads. Colossus Minerals is advancing the high-grade Serra Pelada project, aimed at achieving production next year.

Serra Pelada is in Brazil and is famous for hosting the largest gold rush in history – in the 1980s, some 80,000 artisanal miners produced an estimated 2 million ounces of gold from a hand-dug pit at the site. The best place to find gold is where it has already been found, and so Ari guided Colossus through a complicated process to acquire the Serra Pelada land package. Now, four years later, the company is building an underground operation at the site. The effort has earned rewards: since its initial public offering in early 2008, Colossus has raised more than $200 million and the company's share price has climbed from 50¢ to above $8.

Continental Minerals is at an earlier stage, but holds a portfolio of promising gold projects in Colombia. Investors must be excited about Ari's next venture, as Continental's share price has jumped eight-fold in just over a year.

Ari, armed only with a Bachelor of Arts degree, has spent his career identifying and advancing mineral projects. His instincts and experience are serving him better and better as time goes by, and we're excited to see where he will lead us next.