News Release
Ridgeline Royalties Announces Appointment of Two Highly Accomplished Mining Industry Veterans with Stefan Wenger Joining as Executive Director and Fahad Tariq as Vice President, Corporate Development
Ridgeline Royalties Inc.
Ridgeline Royalties Incorporated (Ridgeline or the Company) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Stefan Wenger as Executive Director and Mr. Fahad Tariq as Vice President, Corporate Development effective February 7, 2024. Mr. Wenger, former CFO of Royal Gold (NASDAQ: RGLD), will join Ridgeline’s Board of Directors as Executive Director. In addition, Mr. Wenger will serve as a member of the Company’s Investment Committee. In his role as Executive Director, Mr. Wenger will participate in the development of Ridgeline’s growth strategy and act as an advisor to Executive Management on a regular basis. “Stefan’s vast knowledge of the royalty industry, transaction structuring, corporate finance and advice as a current member of Ridgeline’s Advisory Board have been indispensable,” said Jonathan Beigle, President and Chief Executive Officer. “During Stefan’s 15-year tenure at Royal Gold, he was a key member of the executive management team and helped guide the company through a period of rapid growth. I am very excited for Stefan to expand his impact for Ridgeline as we initiate our next phase of growth and become the global leader in providing royalty and stream financing to the battery metals industry.” “I am excited to participate in the future growth of Ridgeline Royalties, and to add my industry expertise to the solid foundation of opportunity that Jonathan has created. On a personal note, I am looking forward to working with Jonathan and Fahad as we build together at Ridgeline” commented Mr. Wenger. Mr. Tariq is a highly accomplished mining industry veteran with over a decade of experience as a publishing sell-side equity research analyst at Credit Suisse and BMO (NYSE: BMO). As a former top-ranked mining analyst, Mr. Tariq’s deep understanding of the royalty and streaming sector and his previous experience covering lithium producers uniquely positions him to lead Ridgeline’s corporate development efforts. As Ridgeline advances its vision to establish itself as the go-to pure-play battery metals streaming and royalty company globally, Mr. Tariq will be responsible for transaction sourcing and evaluations, partnerships with operators, and overall due diligence. “I am thrilled to welcome Fahad to the Ridgeline team as we facilitate the buildout of upstream critical minerals assets that will be required to achieve fulsome EV penetration,” said Jonathan Beigle. “With more than a decade as a sell-side research analyst, Fahad brings a unique skill set and will enhance our ability to evaluate a broad scope of royalty and streaming opportunities. He personifies the qualities we uphold at Ridgeline – integrity, passion and teamwork – and is the ideal fit for the culture we are building. I look forward to partnering with Fahad in building Ridgeline’s platform to facilitate the global energy transition.” “I’m incredibly excited to be joining Jonathan and the talented team at Ridgeline,” said Mr. Tariq. “With Jonathan’s vision and leadership, the support of a world-class Advisory Board, and early success with the James Bay lithium royalty, Ridgeline is uniquely positioned to become the battery metals partner of choice for royalty and stream financing for years to come.” Ridgeline’s two new management appointments will allow the company to more effectively and efficiently pursue attractive royalty and streaming transactions across the lithium, graphite, nickel and cobalt sectors. In January 2023, Ridgeline sourced and closed its inaugural transaction for a royalty on Arcadium Lithium’s (NYSE: ALTM; ASX: LTM; formerly Allkem Ltd.) James Bay lithium spodumene development project in Quebec. Since then, James Bay has received all necessary permits to begin development and increased the resource to over 110 million tonnes. Ridgeline is uniquely positioned to continue building its portfolio and capitalize on the current market for critical metals. Given the global push for decarbonization and electrification over the coming decades, significant project investment and development capital will be required. This exciting reality provides an exceptional opportunity for tenured management teams, such as the one now assembled at Ridgeline, to execute a superior strategy. About Stefan Wenger In addition to his role as Executive Director at Ridgeline Royalties, Stefan Wenger is currently a Co-Founder, Director and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of UV-Concepts, Inc., a Colorado-based technology company that has developed innovative solutions for the healthcare industry. Prior to co-founding UV Concepts, Stefan was the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Royal Gold (NASDAQ: RGLD), one of the largest precious metal royalty companies in the world from 2006 to 2018. Prior to becoming CFO, Stefan was the Chief Accounting Officer from 2003 to 2006. During his tenure, Royal Gold grew from a portfolio of 14 royalties to 188 royalties and revenues grew from $15 million to $459M. Stefan began his career as an auditor with Arthur Andersen. Stefan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Colorado State University, has completed the General Management Program at the Harvard Business School, and is a certified public accountant. About Fahad Tariq Fahad Tariq joins Ridgeline as Vice President, Corporate Development and will be responsible for leading transaction sourcing and evaluations, partnerships with operators, and overall due diligence. Prior to joining Ridgeline, Fahad was Director, Equity Research at Credit Suisse, covering North American large cap precious metals and base metals companies, including royalty and streaming companies Franco-Nevada (NYSE: FNV), Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE: WPM), Royal Gold (NASDAQ: RGLD), and Triple Flag Precious Metals (NYSE: TFPM) (Credit Suisse acted as lead active bookrunner on the IPO of Triple Flag in 2021). Fahad was ranked the #1 precious metals analyst by Institutional Investor in 2020 and the #3 precious metals analyst in 2021. Fahad is also a frequent speaker at industry conferences including the Denver Gold Forum and PDAC. Prior to Credit Suisse, Fahad worked in equity research at BMO Capital Markets, covering the specialty chemicals sector, including coverage of lithium producers. Fahad holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto, an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Chartered Accountant. About Ridgeline Royalties Inc. Ridgeline Royalties Inc. was founded in 2020 to be the leading source of royalty and stream financing for the energy transition and to enable producers of lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, and other critical metals to ensure that the supply of these commodities is sufficient to meet the world's sustainability and energy transition goals. Ridgeline has assembled a world-class Advisory Board of senior leaders from some of the largest mining and royalty companies in the world in order to establish the company as the go-to source for royalty and stream financing in the battery metals sector. Contact Details Ridgeline Royalties Inc. Jonathan Beigle +1 585-749-6456 jbeigle@ridgelineroyalties.com Company Website https://www.ridgelineroyalties.com
February 07, 2024 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
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