Canadian miner Iamgold has announced the appointment of Renaud Adams as president and CEO, replacing chairperson Maryse Bélanger, who was acting as interim president and CEO during the executive search process.

In addition, Maarten Theunissen has been appointed permanent CFO, having served in an interim capacity since September last year.

"The appointment of Renaud Adams represents the culmination of an extensive and rigorous search process led by the board's CEO search committee," said Bélanger.

"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. The entire board looks forward to working with Renaud as he provides the leadership to guide Iamgold towards its goal of becoming a leading high-margin gold producer."

Adams has more than 30 years of global mining experience in senior executive positions and operations. He was president and CEO of New Gold from 2018 to 2022, where he led the strategic repositioning of the company and turnaround of its operations. Prior to New Gold, Adams was president and CEO of Richmont Mines from 2014 until the company was sold to Alamos Gold in November 2017.

Adams said he was excited about the opportunity to lead Iamgold into its next chapter.

“Today, the company is at an exciting juncture, poised to bring the Côté gold project into production, and begin operation of what will be Canada's next low-cost, large scale, long-life gold mine. This is a mine that will be a model for mining in Canada and transformational for Iamgold.

“This is, in some ways, a return home for me from my early days at Iamgold in operations. I am proud to be leading a company with a steadfast adherence to a Zero Harm culture, which is a commitment to responsible mining that was instituted in my first year at Iamgold over 16 years ago," said Adams.

Theunissen has over 15 years of progressive experience in the mining industry. Prior to joining the company, Theunissen was CFO for a Canadian junior gold producer and senior VP of finance of one of the world's largest uranium producers.

Theunissen is a chartered accountant (designated in both South Africa and Canada) and began his career with KPMG, where he was a manager in their mining group.