Ola Zawalna is the Managing Director of the Cornwall Mining & Geo-Resources Alliance (CMGA). She holds a PhD in Geology from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, specialising in volcanology and geochemistry and an MSc in Marine Geography from the University of Szczecin, Poland. Ola’s career spans research, industry and strategic programme coordination, with roles ranging from Research Fellow to Project Manager across several departments at the University of Exeter, including the Camborne School of Mines, the Renewable Energy Group, the Business School and Exeter Innovation. She also brings industry experience as a basin modeller and geochemist in the oil and gas sector. Ola has extensive experience delivering complex, multi‑stakeholder initiatives with international reach, drawing on her broad technical and managerial expertise to support collaboration across academia, industry and government. Her multidisciplinary background and global perspective underpin her work in advancing Cornwall’s critical minerals and wider geo-resources ecosystem.