Our Leadership

Brian Penney

Baffinland CEO Brian Penney has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry, including 24 years of leadership roles in the iron ore industry. Among his key leadership roles, Brian was the lead of mining and milling operations in Yellowknife and Labrador for 18 years. At the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and CEO levels, Brian was responsible for the early development of iron ore properties at Alderon Iron Ore Corp. and Ridgemont Iron Ore Corp.

Brian is a graduate of the Technical University of Nova Scotia, which is now Dalhousie University. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in metallurgical engineering.

Celeste Van Tonder

Celeste brings more than 15 years of financial and commercial experience to the Company. She is highly skilled in regulatory compliance, tax matters and funding, as well as budget and capital planning. Prior to joining Baffinland, Celeste was CFO of the Canadian Copper company Rambler Metals and Mining. She was also CFO of Universal Coal Plc and Terracom Resources Ltd.,. As Baffinland CFO, Celeste leads the finance group in planning for the Steensby phase, as well as maintaining Baffinland’s reporting processes and audit standards.

Celeste holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters of Accounting from the University of Johannesburg, and is a Chartered Accountant (SA).

Tayfun Eldem

Tayfun Eldem has more than 30 years of operations, business development and strategic leadership experience in the mining and minerals industry. Prior to joining Baffinland, Tayfun was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Alderon Iron Ore Corp., and was previously Managing Director of Iron Ore & Coal for Hatch Ltd. where he was responsible for business development across five regions of the world. In addition, he worked for the Iron Ore Company of Canada, a Rio Tinto subsidiary, for more than 20 years, where he was accountable for the development and delivery of a nearly $2 billion program of green and brown fields expansion projects.

Tayfun, a professional engineer, holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from Dalhousie University, along with and Operations Management certificate from the Richard Ivey School of Business, and a Strategic Leadership certificate from and the London Business School.

Mark O'Brien

Prior to joining Baffinland as our EVP and General Counsel, Mark was a partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, a leading Toronto-based law firm, where he advised clients on a variety of matters, including public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, loan financing, joint ventures, and corporate governance.

Mark holds a Juris Doctor (JD) Degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the University of Prince Edward Island.

Sajid Rizvi

Sajid Rizvi has more than 20 years of capital markets experience, particularly in the mining sector. Prior to joining Baffinland, he was Managing Director, Investment Banking at TD Securities in the Global Mining Group, where he advised clients on capital raising, mergers & acquisitions and negotiating complex transactions.

Sajid hold an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA).

Megan Lord-Hoyle

Megan Lord-Hoyle has more than 10 years of experience working in Nunavut, and across Canada, in the field of environmental management and risk communication. Megan started as the Sustainability Manager with Baffinland in 2016, managing the regional environmental monitoring programs. As our VP, Sustainable Development, she leads regulatory reporting and permitting, regional environmental monitoring programs, and community engagement activities.

Megan holds a Bachelor of Science, Honours (BScH) in Environmental Chemistry from Queen’s University, a Master of Science (MSc) in Environmental Science from the Royal Military College of Canada, and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Public Policy and Administration from Queen’s University.

Robin Nundoo

Robin Nundoo has extensive experience in iron ore and metallurgical coal sales, maritime freight trading, commodity derivatives, price risk management, and financial modelling and analysis. He spent 8.5 years with ArcelorMittal as Global Sales Book & Pricing Manager for the company’s mining business.

Robin was closely involved with the marketing, shipping, and selling of Baffinland’s iron ore while at ArcelorMittal. As our VP of Sales & Logistics, Robin’s primary objectives are to bring Baffinland's Iron ore to market, manage inventory working capital, and oversee Baffinland’s maritime iron ore shipping activities. He also works closely with site operations, Baffinland’s port management partners, and sustainable development teams towards achieving shared goals.

Robin holds an MBA from Imperial College Business School in London, as well as a Bachelor’s of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics.

Udlu Hanson

Udloriak Hanson (Udlu) has extensive experience working in senior roles with the Government of Nunavut and various Inuit organizations. Prior to joining Baffinland, Udlu was Deputy Minister of the Department of Economic Development and Transportation for the Government of Nunavut. She also served as Chie­­f Operating Officer with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) as well as NTI’s Chief Negotiator for Devolution.

Udlu worked as Senior Advisor to the Clerk of the Executive Council for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, on Aboriginal Issues and Arctic Economic Opportunities. She also served as Executive Director and Special Advisor to Mary Simon, then-President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the national organization representing Inuit across Canada.

Udlu also led the development of the Qaujisaqtiit Society, Nunavut’s first charitable consortium of Inuit non-profit organizations. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Rideau Hall Foundation.

Udlu holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Okanagan University College and a Bachelor of Education from Brock University.