Yamana Gold announces creation of executive chairman role and appointment of New President and Chief
Daniel Racine. — Photo courtesy Yamana Gold
Yamana Gold Inc. (TSX:YRI; NYSE:AUY) (“Yamana” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce the promotion of Daniel Racine to President and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), from his current role as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer. Peter Marrone, the Company’s Chairman and CEO, is assuming a newly created role as Executive Chairman, and will continue to serve as Chairman of Yamana’s Board of Directors.
Mr. Marrone will be accountable to the Board of Directors and serve as a liaison between the Board of Directors and management, through the President and CEO. Mr. Marrone will continue to drive Yamana’s strategic vision, focusing on the initiatives to optimize capital deployment, return measures, the sustainability of cash flows, and the evaluation of strategic alternatives to maximize the value of the Company’s assets, including the substantial non-producing portion of the portfolio, for shareholders.
Mr. Marrone will also serve as a guide, and mentor, to the President and CEO and, through the President and CEO, to management of the Company more generally. Mr. Marrone is the founder of the Company and has been responsible for its activities and development in his role as Chairman and CEO.
The creation of an Executive Chairman role is consistent with the Company’s ongoing review of management effectiveness and succession planning. The separation of the Chairman and CEO roles has been enabled by several years of progressive steps where management strength and the management construct have been enhanced, the balance sheet bolstered, and the Company’s mines and projects have performed well, including the newly commissioned high-grade Cerro Moro mine. The new construct provides a continuity in approach, builds on the strong foundation in place, while leveraging the expertise of both Mr. Marrone and Mr. Racine.
“We are delighted to report on our succession plan for the senior most roles of the Company pursuant to which Daniel succeeds me in the role of CEO and takes on the formal role of President and CEO,” said Peter Marrone, who now takes on the role of Executive Chairman. “Our Board of Directors sees this appointment as a natural evolution of his roles over the last several years. Daniel has shown tremendous leadership and his co-operative approach has been a key to the Company’s recent strong performance.” Mr. Marrone continued, “In my role as Executive Chairman, I look forward to continuing to assist the Company in many initiatives and efforts to deliver value for our shareholders and other stakeholders.”
Mr. Racine has been with the Company since 2014 and, most recently, was the Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of the Company, responsible for overseeing Yamana’s operations and development stage projects. In his capacity as President and CEO, Mr. Racine will be responsible for the business of the Company with all executive offices reporting directly to him. In turn, the President and CEO will report directly to the Executive Chairman of the Company. Mr. Racine will work with the Executive Chairman in the formulation of strategy, be responsible for managing the business and be accountable for the management, prepare the business plan for the Company and ensure the Company adheres to that plan.
Commented Daniel Racine, President and Chief Executive Officer: “In joining this Company in 2014, I recognized the opportunities in assets and people. Considerable efforts have been made to improve the quality of managers and management of the Company and oversight by the Board of Directors in the last several years. These changes have helped improve the resilience of our Company, deliver predictable operational performance, successfully develop Cerro Moro and establish a culture that champions health, safety and sustainable development more effectively.
“Peter has been instrumental in driving these changes and with them, much of the heavy lifting to position Yamana Gold for the future and next phase in its evolution have been completed. Our operations are performing well, as evidenced by our performance through the first half of 2018 and that strong performance continued through July. Cerro Moro is producing at a monthly rate that is in line with our plans and our other operations continue to perform. We are well in excess of production plans so far this year and are trending very favourably toward annual guidance for all gold, silver and copper.
“When I was called to step into the role of President and CEO as part of the Company’s senior management succession plan, it was natural for me to accept. We have accomplished so much in the past few years and I am confident we have more potential to unlock from our portfolio. I look forward to working with our management, Peter and the Board of Directors to deliver further value to our stakeholders.”
About Yamana
Yamana is a Canadian-based gold producer with significant gold production, gold development stage properties, exploration properties, and land positions throughout the Americas including Canada, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. Yamana plans to continue to build on this base through existing operating mine expansions and optimization initiatives, development of new mines, the advancement of its exploration properties and, at times, by targeting other gold consolidation opportunities with a primary focus in the Americas.
Forward-looking statements apply.
