Our Leadership

Brian Penney

Brian Penney is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Baffinland Iron Mines Inc. Brian 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.

Tayfun Eldem

Tayfun Eldem brings over 30-years of operations, business development and strategic leadership experience in the mining and minerals industry. Most recently, Tayfun served as 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. During this period, Tayfun held many senior roles including Vice President, Expansion Projects & Engineering, and Chief Operating Officer where he oversaw the company operations from the mine through the concentrator and pellet plant to railway and port. At IOC, he also held accountability for the development and delivery of a nearly $2.0 billion program of green and brown fields expansion projects.

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

Fernando Ragone

Fernando Ragone is the Chief Financial Officer for Baffinland Iron Mines. Fernando has more than 25 years of experience in the mining industry. Prior to joining Baffinland, Fernando was the Business Improvement Director for First Majestic Silver Corporation. He also served as the Director of Finance for Primero Mining Corporation.

Fernando spent 14 years with Glencore Xstrata, including four years as the Chief Financial Officer for Glencore’s North American Zinc Business with annual sales of $4.5 billion, including four operating mines, three smelters and exploration projects. As their CFO, he was responsible for financial reporting and accounting, IT, business development, strategic planning, and more.

As the Chief Financial Officer for almost five years at Glencore Zinc, Fernando was responsible for the strategy and execution of the North American Zinc Business Plans and achievement of targets for the division including EBITDA, EBIT, Costs Savings, Revenue Enhancement, and Cash Flows; Member of the Executive Pension Committee and member of several subsidiary Company Boards. He was the key member leading the increase of the size of the North American Zinc business by over $1Billion, as a result of successfully recommending and completing several asset acquisitions and site developments in Canada and Ireland, including operating mines, Joint Ventures and prospective mine developments. Instrumental on increasing the profitability of the North American Business by achieving $500M+ of combined costs savings and revenue enhancement opportunities realized over 4 years at different operations.

He spent a significant part of his career working at several mining operations in several countries.

Fernando holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the Catholic University of Valparaiso, Chile and is a designated Chartered Accountant (CA) and a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).

Mark O'Brien

Mark O’Brien is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Baffinland Iron Mines. Prior to joining Baffinland, Mark was a partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, 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 (J.D.) Degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the University of Prince Edward Island.

Sajid Rizvi

Sajid Rizvi is the Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Investor Relations for Baffinland Iron Mines. Sajid 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 is the Vice President, Sustainable Development of Baffinland Iron Mines Inc. Megan brings over 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 and now 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.

Udlu Hanson

Udloriak Hanson (Udlu) is the Vice President, Community & Strategic Development for Baffinland Iron Mines.  She most recently served as 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 A/Executive Director and Special Advisor to Mary Simon, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the national organization representing Inuit across Canada.

Udlu led the development of 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.