Stornoway Shakes Up Top Management

RAPAPORT… Patrick Sévigny will take over management of Stornoway Diamonds following the exit of CEO Patrick Godin amid the company’s efforts to streamline its executive team.

Sévigny will lead the company as chief operating officer, Stornoway said last week. Godin, who has stepped down from his role, joined the Canadian miner in 2010 as chief operating officer and was named CEO in 2018.

Meanwhile, Annie Torkia Lagacé, Stornoway’s executive vice president of finance and corporate services, will also leave the company, which owns the Renard mine. Her responsibilities will be redistributed among other employees, the miner noted. Both departures were effective June 26.

“The market meltdown has slowed our momentum,” said Godin. “[However,] I am confident in Patrick Sévigny’s abilities to lead the company and that the future of the mine and organization will improve as the diamond market recovers.”

Last year, Stornoway was taken over by its major lenders and privatized after mounting debts forced it to default on a bridge loan provided to help keep it afloat after it filed for creditor protection. The Toronto Stock Exchange delisted it shortly afterward.

The miner shut its operations in March amid the coronavirus pandemic, and extended the deposit’s care-and-maintenance status indefinitely in April due to the depressed diamond market. The company plans to reopen the mine when rough prices recover, it stated.

Godin and Torkia Lagacé will continue to support Stornoway’s executive team through the end of 2020 to ensure a smooth transition, board chairman Hubert Lacroix added.

Image: The Renard mine (top) and Patrick Sévigny (right). (Stornoway Diamonds)