Management and Directors
Marc-Andre PelletierPresident, Chief Executive Officer and Director (4)
Marc-Andre is a professional mining engineer with over 25 years of experience, predominantly in underground gold mines. He was most recently the Chief Operating Officer at Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. where he was instrumental in the production re-start of the Kiena Mine, only five years after the original discovery of the high-grade Deep Zone. Mr. Pelletier also contributed to the increase of production at the Eagle Mine to near 100,000 ounces per year through optimization works and exploration success. Prior to Marc-Andre’s tenure at Wesdome, he was Vice-President of Operations at St Andrew Goldfields Ltd., where he successfully put three underground mines and one open pit mine into production in less than five years until its acquisition by Kirkland Lake Gold in 2016.
Pier-Elise Hébert-TremblayChief Financial Officer
Ms. Hebert-Tremblay is a member of the Certified Professional Accountants of Quebec since August 2011 and holds a Bachelor in Accounting and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi. Ms. Hebert-Tremblay has served as CFO of Arianne Phosphate Inc. since 2021 and had previously been their financial controller since 2010. Ms. Hebert-Tremblay specializes in financial reporting and tax compliance for junior listed resource companies, forecast development and financial modeling.
Cesar GonzalezExecutive Chairman (4)
Mr. Gonzalez co-founded and served as the CEO and a Director of Sailfish Royalty Corp. until 2022. Previously, he served as the VP Corporate Development and a Director of Mako Mining Corp. and its predecessor Marlin Gold Mining Ltd. through the permitting, financing, construction and commissioning of the San Albino and La Trinidad gold mines, the spinout of Sailfish and the acquisition of Marlin by Golden Reign Resources Ltd. to form Mako. He also served as an employee and consultant at Wexford Capital LP for almost 14 years. Mr. Gonzalez started his career at Lehman Brothers in the Private Equity Group where he focused on investments in energy master limited partnerships. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Business Administration.
Akiba LeismanDirector (1, 2, 3)
Mr. Leisman serves as the CEO and a Director of Mako Mining Corp. Previously, Akiba was Executive Chairman and Interim CEO of Marlin Gold Mining Ltd., leading the company through the spinout of Sailfish Royalty Corp. and the merger of Marlin with Golden Reign Resources Ltd. to form Mako. He also serves as the Executive Chairman of Sailfish and as a consultant at Wexford Capital LP, where he oversees the precious metals public and private equity portfolios. Prior to consulting for Wexford, he was a Senior Analyst at Red Kite Capital Management for the Mine Finance funds where he was responsible for senior secured investments on metal mining assets. Previously, he was an Associate at Standard Bank working in the Structured Commodity Products and Mine Finance groups. Akiba has an MBA from New York University, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
Matthew HappyjackDirector (1, 2*, 3, 4) †
Mr. Happjack is currently the President of Air Creebec, a regional airline based in Val-d’Or, Québec, that operates regularly scheduled flights, charters and freight services to 16 destinations in Quebec and Ontario, with its 400 employees. Prior to joining Air Creebec in 2010, Mr. Happyjack held various positions in the financial, management and accounting fields, all the while remaining actively involved in various projects to promote the economic development of The Cree First Nation of Waswanipi. Mr. Happyjack holds an MBA from the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscaminque, where he also completed a Certificate in Accounting. He also holds certificates in Community Economic Development and Management and in Community Management, from Concordia University.
Normand ChampignyLead Director (3*, 4*, 5)†
Mr. Champigny is a geological engineer with extensive experience with both public and private companies, both domestically and internationally and is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Quebec Precious Metals Corporation. He has been involved in many facets of the mining industry, including engineering, project evaluation, and project management. Mr. Champigny is a member of the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec and Director of Mining Matters. Until recently, Mr. Champigny was an Executive Committee Member of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada. He was Chair of the Board of Directors of Minalliance, an organization raising awareness about the mining industry in Quebec and highlighting its positive contribution to Quebec’s social, economic, and environmental development. Mr. Champigny is a graduate from École Polytechnique in Montreal (B.A.Sc), University of British Columbia (M.A.Sc), and Paris School of Mines (Specialized Diploma in Geostatistics).
Peter O’MalleyDirector (1*, 2, 5*)†
Mr. O’Malley is an investment banker with 29 years of international experience covering natural resources and technology companies. He has executed over $500 billion in transactions across multiple jurisdictions and disciplines including, but not limited to; mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings, convertibles, commodities and liability management. He worked at Credit Suisse First Boston for some 13 years in New York and Johannesburg. He eventually moved to Deutsche Bank and was named Head of Natural Resources Investment Banking Asia-Pacific based in Hong Kong. He lived in Hong Kong for 8-years and has an in depth understanding of China’s role in the natural resources sector and in Africa in particular. He received a BA from Siena College in 1988 and a Juris Doctor from St John’s University School of Law in 1991. He has worked as an Election Monitor in Africa and in America and is an active member of his local parish.
1. Audit & Risk Management
2. Human Resources & Compensation
3. Nominating & Governance
4. Technical, Safety & Sustainability
5. Special
* Chair of Committee
† Independent Director