John Glendinning

Managing Director

John Glendinning graduated with a BSc Honours (Geology) from Rhodes University (1995) and a MSc Environmental Geochemistry at the University of Cape Town in 1997.

He started working at Jones & Wagener in 1997. He is registered as a Pr Sci Nat as well as with the Geological Society of London (C. Geol FGS).

John is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Jones & Wagener (Pty) Ltd and the director responsible for three of the environmental departments, as well as finance, procurement, legal and risk. John’s other roles include manging director of both Jones & Wagener International and Jones & Wagener UK, as well as a company director of Jones & Wagener Ghana and JWN Engineering and Environmental Consultants (Namibia).

John’s involvement in contaminated land assessments ranges from mining, heavy industrial, petrochemical, radioactive and waste disposal sites. It includes soil, surface water and groundwater contamination assessments, as well as evaluating the need for remediation. John has also been involved in the evaluation and implementation of a range of remediation / mitigation measures. John is also actively involved in geochemical and hydrogeological investigations on a diverse range of brownfields and greenfields sites.

Richard Puchner

Director

Richard is a highly accomplished engineering geologist and geotechnical consultant with over 25 years of international experience across Africa and the UK. He holds an Honours and Masters degree in Geology and has built an extensive career in site investigations, ground modelling, and geotechnical consultancy.

His expertise spans planning, managing, and delivering geotechnical site investigations, interpreting complex ground conditions, and producing high-quality technical reports, including desk studies and ground investigation assessments. Richard has also authored six publications and was awarded Best Presentation at the 2008 Young Geotechnical Engineers Conference.

Throughout his career, Richard has held key roles, including:

• Geotechnical roles with Opus International, WSP, Hertfordshire County Council, Network Rail, and Buckingham Group Contracting
• Technical Director at McKnight Geotechnical Consulting
• Associate at Jones & Wagener (Pty) Ltd
• Regional Manager for Jones and Wagener International Ltd
• Director of Jones & Wagener UK Ltd and Jones and Wagener International Ltd

Richard published 8 publications ranging from conference papers (local and international) to presentations and articles.

He has also contributed to the profession through leadership in the South African Institute for Engineering and Environmental Geologists (SAIEG), serving as Council Member, Treasurer, and President. Richard is a Fellow of the Geological Society and member of the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG).

Dr. Stephan van Eeden

Director

Stephan is a chartered civil engineer specialising in geotechnics. He holds a Doctorate degree and has 15 years’ design and research experience. He has been involved in a wide range of projects, including tailings and water dam design across six countries in Africa, geotechnical investigations, retaining wall design, numerical modelling and engineering in soft ground in the UK.

After completing his undergraduate studies, Stephan joined Rust Geotechnical Consultants in 2011 working as a civil engineer, whilst pursuing his Honours and Masters degrees part-time. In 2015 he relocated to the UK to work as a research student at the University of Cambridge, culminating in his PhD in 2019. Subsequently, he has gained invaluable consultancy experience in the UK, whilst working for Mott MacDonald from 2019 to 2021. During this time, he carried out and led geotechnical projects on the Environment Agency, Thames Water and Severn Trent frameworks, designing flood storage embankments and retaining walls to form part of the Boston Barrier Scheme.

In 2022, Stephan re-joined Jones & Wagener as part of the UK team as a senior geotechnical engineer, and became a director in 2023. He is a Chartered member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in the UK. Stephan’s area of expertise is geotechnical engineering with particular emphasis on the design of water dams and tailings storage facilities, retaining walls, geotechnical investigations, numerical modelling and laboratory data interpretation, as well as engineering in soft soils. He is adept at writing reports including ground investigation and geotechnical design reports.

Jacqui Hex

Director

Jacqui Hex graduated with a BSc in Natural and Environmental Sciences in 2004 from the Rand Afrikaans University. Thereafter she completed her BSc Honours and later a MSc Environmental Management (cum laude) in 2006 at the University of Johannesburg, where she was also awarded the top Master of Science Student award at the Institution.

Jacqui started her career as an Environmental Scientist in 2007 and later joined the Jones & Wagener team in 2011. She was promoted to an Associate and Technical Director in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

In 2018, Jacqui was promoted to HOD of the Environmental Management team where she leads a team of knowledgeable, diligent and dedicated Environmental Assessment Practitioners and Scientists. Together they have successfully delivered on a range of greenfields and brownfields projects and provided environmental advise and cradle-to-grave solutions to various clients in the mining, petro-chemicals, power and industrial sectors. Her particular interest lies in co-ordinating large teams of engineers and specialists in order to provide holistic and pragmatic solutions to developmental and environmental challenges.

Jacqui is also responsible for the Health and Safety portfolio at Jones & Wagener since 2018, ensuring the company achieves its first priority, which is the safety and wellbeing of our staff, their families, and the community as a whole.

In 2020, Jacqui was appointed as a Director on the Board for Jones & Wagener International Limited, a position she currently maintains. She is also a Director on the Board for Jones & Wagener UK since 2023. She is also serving as the Vice-Chairperson of the EAPASA (Environmental Assessment Practitioners Association of South Africa) Board, where she is also a member of EXCO, the Registrations Committee and is the Chair of the PR Committee since 2017 and Quality and Standards Committee since 2024. She recently returned from Vancouver, Canada (May 2022) where she accepted the International Association of Impact Assessment (IAIA) Institutional Award on behalf of EAPASA for formalising the internal structures and process to include continuing professional development for environmental assessment practitioners in South Africa.

Jacqui’s areas of expertise range from Mining Right and Permit Applications, Environmental Impact Assessments, Basic Assessments, Environmental Management Programs (National Environmental Management Act), Environmental Management Program Reports (Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act), Environmental Control Officer Services, Environmental Auditing, Water Use Licences, Waste Licences, Feasibility Studies, Public Participation, GIS, Gap Analyses, Screening Assessments, Integrated Water and Waste Management Plans and Mine Closure.

Jacqui published six publications (of which she co-authored five) ranging from conference papers (local and international), presentations and articles.

She is a Registered Scientist with the South African Council of Natural and Scientific Professionals (SACNASP) since 2011 and a Registered Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) with EAPASA since 2019 and has been a continuous member of the International Association of Impact Assessors South Africa (IAIAsa) since 2008.

Rynier Shields

Director

Rynier Shields graduated at the University of Pretoria with a BEng (Civil) in 2012. He started his civil engineering career in the Environmental Engineering department of Jones & Wagener in 2013, mainly focussing on water management and mining infrastructure related design projects. Rynier joined J&W’s Tailings department in 2017 and completed his Beng Honours degree in Geotechnical Engineering in 2018. He was promoted to Associate in 2021 and Technical Director in 2024. As of 2025, Rynier serves as head of the Tailings Department. Rynier is also appointed as a Director of Jones & Wagener UK.

Rynier has gained significant experience with TSF performance monitoring through continuous surveillance where he is currently appointed as the EoR for TSFs with varying consequence of failure classifications. He has led major TSF related design projects, together with various smaller design projects to support continued operation of TSF deposition in line with relevant guidelines, standards and legislation. Rynier has authored and co-authored two conference papers related to Tailings management.

Rynier is a professional engineer registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). He is also a member of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE), where he serves on the Geotechnical Division’s Tailings Sub-Committee.