Designing Change, Empowering People: Rosebella Osei’s Global Mining Mission

Rosebella Osei’s journey into mining isn’t conventional, but neither is her impact. As mining professionals know well, there’s always more beneath the surface. With a path that challenges convention, Rosebella Osei has emerged as a defining force in the mining industry.

After growing up in proximity to the mining industry and later leading key change management projects in the industry, Osei realized just how badly further change was needed. That realization would set her on a path to transform an industry that she grew up in, making it safer and more inclusive, all the while transforming herself into a global advocate for innovation and change in the mining industry.

For Osei, the connection to the mining industry started at her childhood dinner table. Growing up, she witnessed her father’s quiet dedication and pride in working for the industry and felt inspired by his work. Osei relates that her father’s “stories sparked [her] curiosity and planted the seed for what would become a lifelong passion for making mining more inclusive, impactful, and people-centered.”

That seed began to grow. Osei realized that resource-rich communities like hers were very often shut out from important decisions and the benefits of the mining industry. Moreover, she recognized that quite often, women were excluded from real impact and decision-making. Osei realized that the industry introduced to her at the dinner table needed a longer table for inclusive mining leadership, like hers and that of their communities. So, she got to work on doing just that.

Starting her career, Osei focused her work on change management in mining, particularly in high-risk scenarios. The experience led her to realize that change needed to occur at a systems level, with underlying governance that centered people over productivity. Leading the charge for mining innovation, Osei realized that her path would include turning towards academia, where she would begin pursuing a doctoral program to support her work on smart technologies in mining and human-centered change systems.

While leading the charge in the mining industry transformation, Osei has also championed more women in mining and leadership roles. Now, she leads efforts to ensure inclusivity, developing the next generation of global women leaders in STEM, along with mining and sustainability.

Transforming an industry is rarely easy, and the mining industry is no exception. Osei’s ideas and expertise were at times disregarded until her exceptional results could no longer be ignored. Furthermore, Osei was often met with resistance to innovation in places where her presence alone could be interpreted as a sign of change. She persevered, choosing to use these moments of truth as opportunities to demonstrate her abilities and impact, transforming barriers to entry into bonfires of change.

Her efforts to redefine the future of work in mining have not gone unnoticed. Indeed, they are impossible to ignore. Osei has co-developed the WIM Success Lab, a leading e-learning platform designed to strengthen the WIM Organization, including mining workforce development worldwide. She serves as the Vice President of Women in Science at Missouri S&T, mentoring graduate students and advocating for inclusion in STEM, and she became the proud recipient of the Airbus Prize for Academic Excellence as Best Student in the International Management program at the University of the West of England.

Her research continues to draw attention for its relevance and impact. At the 2025 IISE Conference, she presented her doctoral paper on human-centered ARI (autonomous, robotic, intelligent) mining systems, which was nominated for Best Student Paper. In October 2024, she was invited to speak as a panelist on workforce development at the OECD Conference on Mining Regions and Cities, contributing insights on sustainable talent pipelines in the sector. Recognizing her impact, Osei’s home nation named her among Ghana’s Top 10 Inspirational Women in Mining.

The inspiring leader isn’t slowing down, either. Rosebella Osei continues to transform and redefine the mining industry and the face of STEM leadership. The global advocate seeks to continue building her legacy of bold leadership and human-centered resolutions. Osei’s efforts have improved mining today, while helping to blaze the path for leaders tomorrow.