Originally an exploration geologist, Rick worked as an executive with mining companies operating in Africa, North and South America and Australasia. Since retiring from the Anglovaal/ARM group in 2009 where he was Executive Chair of Anglovaal and then Deputy Chair of acquirer African Rainbow Minerals, he has had a non-executive career on the boards of Gold Fields, the Weir Group, Bateman Engineering, and Standard Bank Group. Among other roles he has served as President of the South African Chamber of Mines, Chair of the South African Tourism Board and for many years was a Senior Adviser to Credit Suisse. He remains active in a range of non-profit organisations and public-private partnerships focussed on youth development and infrastructure rehabilitation in Southern Africa.

Rick joined Global Mentors Group in 2025 and is based in Cape Town. He was educated in the UK and the USA, holding an MA (Cantab) and MSc (Stanford).