Renaud Adams recently received some golden news. In March 2023, Canadian miner IAMGOLD announced that following its rigorous search, it had found its new president and Chief Executive Officer: Adams. He is slated to take the company's reigns on April 3, 2023. On top of his upcoming executive and presidential duties, Adams will also serve as a member of the board of directors. For insiders, this appointment makes sense considering that Adams has more than three decades' worth of global mining experience in senior executive positions and operations.
Maryse Bélanger, IAMGOLD's current chairman, explained why Adams is such a sought-after executive, saying, “Renaud offers the rare combination of operational, strategic, and capital markets experience, with a proven track record of leading a safety-first culture, attributes that are essential for leading a global mining company today.”
This is not the first time Adams has worked for IAMGOLD, which currently operates mines in North America and West Africa with approximately 3,300 employees on the books. Years ago, he served as general manager of IAMGOLD's Rosebel mine in Suriname, before being appointed Senior Vice President of the company's Americas Operations.
Most recently, Adams served as president and CEO of New Gold Inc. from 2018 to 2022, where he led the strategic repositioning of the company and turnaround of its operations. Before that, he was at Richmont Mines Inc., serving as president and CEO from 2014 until the company was sold to Alamos Gold in November 2017 for $770 million. Under his leadership, Richmont Mines' principal mine more than doubled, its mineral reserves more than tripled, and costs were reduced to make the Island Gold Mine in Ontario one of the lowest cost operating underground mines in the Americas. From 2011 to 2014, Adams also served as the Chief Operating Officer for Primero Mining Corporation.
Additionally, he currently serves as the non-executive chairman of Omai Gold Mines, an exploration company operating in South America.
During his lengthy career, Adams also held various senior positions with Cambior Inc. and Breakwater Resources Ltd. In terms of education, Adams received a Bachelor of Engineering in mining and mineral processing from Laval University in Quebec, Canada.