On February 14, 2020, the Board of Directors of SLN, a subsidiary of the Eramet Group, approved the appointment of Colin McGibbon as Chief Executive Officer of SLN.

This appointment is effective as of that date. Colin will be based at SLN’s head office in Nouméa, New Caledonia.

Colin McGibbon has extensive experience in the area of company transformations. Following in the footsteps of his predecessor, he will focus on three major issues for SLN, which produces nickel ore and ferronickel:

  • Maintaining the health and safety of employees as absolute operational priorities;
  • Continuing to implement the SLN rescue plan that will enable the company to return to profitability;
  • Remaining in regular dialogue with all concerned parties: employees, employee representatives, regional and local authorities, as well as the local population.

He succeeds Bernard Laflamme, who has chosen to retire in February 2020.

Portrait of Colin McGibbon, SLN's CEO

Christel Bories, Eramet’s CEO, said:
“On behalf of the Group, I would like to thank Bernard for his unstinting commitment over the past two years at the helm of SLN. He has worked hard to implement the new business model based on the production of ferronickel and the export of minerals and has been actively involved in the deployment of the company’s rescue plan. Under his leadership, we have radically overhauled our efforts in the areas of health and safety at work and in our relations with the local population, which are essential to the smooth running of the plan.
We wish Bernard all the best in his new life and we welcome Colin, confident that his vast experience will enable him to continue the process already underway.”

Scotsman Colin McGibbon studied mechanical engineering at the University of Strathclyde. Before taking on the position of CEO of Société Le Nickel (SLN), he was VP of Operations at Ambatovy in Madagascar. He had previously served as General Manager of Rio Tinto group’s Yarwun refinery in Australia and their Dunkerque aluminum smelter in France. Prior to this, he held various operational positions, at the Tata Steel Group in the United Kingdom and in France, but also overseas.