Baffinland CEO resigns; no further changes planned for head office, says spokesperson
Jowdat Waheed, CEO and president of parent company Nunavut Iron Ore Inc., takes over from Brian Penney
Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. CEO Brian Penney, seen here speaking at the Northern Lights conference and trade show in Ottawa in 2023, has resigned from his position, the company announced Tuesday. (File photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Brian Penney has resigned as CEO of Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.
The mining company, which operates Mary River iron mine on north Baffin Island, made the announcement Tuesday in a news release.
The change is effective immediately.
Penney’s resignation is the only change to the company’s executive team and “there are no changes planned for the head office,” said Baffinland spokesperson Peter Akman in an email to Nunatsiaq News.
Jowdat Waheed, CEO and president of Nunavut Iron Ore Inc., Baffinland’s parent company, has assumed Penney’s responsibilities, according to the release.
Waheed has been at the help of Nunavut Iron Ore since December 2010, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Penney is leaving his position to “allow more time with his family on the east coast of Canada,” the release said.
The Mary River iron mine employs about 2,500 people and contributes approximately 23 per cent of Nunavut’s gross domestic product. It began operations in 2015.
Akman said the company has “no current plans for terminations at the Mary River mine.”
“We are committed to our workforce and continue to assess our operational needs to ensure we maintain safety and meet our production targets,” said Akman.
Baffinland is currently in the process of raising money to build a 149-kilometre railway south from the mine to Steensby Inlet, after the company was forced to pivot from a plan to ship 12 million tonnes of ore annually through the ecologically sensitive Milne Inlet.
Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal rejected the Milne Inlet proposal in November 2022 after a lengthy and divisive public hearing.
Vandal sided with the Nunavut Impact Review Board, which concluded Baffinland wouldn’t be able to mitigate the ecological impacts of more shipping from Milne Inlet, which traverses the proposed Tallurutiup Imanga Marine Conservation Area.
This area of water off the coast of north Baffin Island is home to narwhals, bowhead whales, seals and polar bears, and many Inuit rely on these animals for sustenance.
Penney expressed his “deep gratitude” to all the people who work at Baffinland, the communities on Baffin Island, and “Inuit partners” to the mining company.
“It has been an honour to lead the company and I know the future is bright for Baffinland,” he said in the release.
Wow, this is big news from Baffinland. Say what you want about Baffinland, but Brian cared about Nunavut and he cared about Inuit. Sure there are many gains still to be made, and many changes still required, but in his heart he really cared. He is a huge loss for Baffinland.
Baffinland has done some recent layoffs in Oakville, and I don’t think things are going in the direction they hoped for raising capital for the Steensby project. It was a lot of money, and a mine shipping 6 million tons a year, doesn’t paint a rosy picture for return on investment.
For now Baffinland is being led by Jowdat Waheed. He should probably continue to clean house of some of the upper management and VP’s and reset the company for the future.
After all this time their Inuit employment numbers still stink, and even though Brian tried, he never achieved success with this. To me Jowdat should start there, and commit to increasing Inuit employment to a minimum of 25% across the board. Offer the training required and put Nunavut to work.
Good luck Brian on your future endeavors. I guess you have made millions over the years each year. So no stress on you. Enjoy Nova Scotia!
No real surprise, Brian was not the best CEO. Surprised he was not fired when Phase 2 was rejected. Baffinland was an old boys’ club, if you were “friends” with Brian life was good, you were protected even if you were useless in your job. This article neglected to mention how deeply in debt the company is and the job terminations at the Mary River site and their HO. Maybe Brian should not have paid out the HUGE retention, long-term, and short-term incentives to the overpaid executives.
Brian will walk away with a smile and a million $+ leaving package.
I met Mr. Penney on a couple of occasions and believe that his desire to develop a project that would benefit the north Baffin communities was genuine and true.
QIA and the communities may end up with a situation that they try and squeeze so hard that it all slips through their fingers…
I agree with Great Beyond. QIA & the communities are asking for too much. Baffinland has done so much for the Inuit communities but they are constantly asking for more. Without permits, they are killing the golden goose.
FYI, Mary River Iron Ore has been classified a Critical Mineral, the ore is very pure and will be very valuable for Canada. Heck out the facts.