Richie Haddock
About Richie Haddock
Richie (Rich) Haddock, age 66, has served as an independent director of Perpetua Resources Corp. (PPTA) since May 19, 2023. He is a former General Counsel of Barrick Gold Corporation, with a legal career dating to 1985 and a Bachelor’s degree in Geology, bringing deep permitting, stakeholder engagement, environmental, governance, litigation, and M&A expertise to the board . The board has determined Mr. Haddock is independent under SEC, Nasdaq, and Canadian securities law standards .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barrick Gold Corporation | General Counsel; earlier senior legal roles since 1997; Global VP of Environment; Interim Regional President, Barrick North America | General Counsel 2014–2022; at Barrick 1997–2022 | Extensive permitting expertise; stakeholder engagement; environment/governance; litigation; M&A |
| Santa Fe Pacific Gold (merged into Newmont) | Legal role | Not disclosed | Mining-sector legal experience |
| Holme Roberts & Owen (Denver-based international law firm) | Partner | Not disclosed | Corporate/legal leadership; started practicing law in 1985 |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | — | No current public company directorships |
Board Governance
- Independence: Independent director; majority-independent board; independent Audit, Compensation, and Corporate Governance & Nominating committees .
- Board leadership: Chair is independent (Marcelo Kim); Lead Independent Director is Christopher J. Robison; regular executive sessions of independent directors .
- Committees: Technical Committee member (not chair) .
- Attendance: Strong engagement in 2024.
| Governance Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Board tenure | Director since May 19, 2023 |
| Committees | Technical Committee member |
| Board meetings attended (2024) | 6 of 6 (100%) |
| Technical Committee meetings attended (2024) | 4 of 5; total attendance 93% across all meetings (14 total) |
| Independence status | Independent (SEC/Nasdaq/NI 52-110) |
| Executive sessions | Chair presides; independent-only sessions held |
Fixed Compensation
| Component (Director, 2024) | Amount (USD) | Units/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | $22,080 | |
| Committee member retainers | $5,750 | |
| Total cash fees (elected as DSUs) | $27,830 | |
| One-time DSU stock award | $27,600 | |
| Total compensation | $55,430 | |
| DSUs in lieu of cash fees | 4,406 DSUs (fees) | |
| One-time DSU grant | 9,139 DSUs |
Director fee schedule (for context): base $22,080; committee member $2,875; committee chair premiums and Lead Director fees apply if applicable (Haddock is not a chair/lead) .
Performance Compensation
- DSUs vest 100% on grant but are payable only upon separation from service; no options granted to directors in 2024; no director-specific performance metrics tied to equity awards disclosed .
- Clawback: Company adopted an incentive-based compensation clawback policy in 2023 for executive officers; not directly applicable to non-employee directors .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Type | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current public company boards | None |
| Interlocks/arrangements | Paulson & Co. has rights to designate two board nominees and its nominee is Board Chair (Marcelo Kim); Haddock is not a Paulson nominee . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Legal, permitting, environmental, stakeholder engagement, governance, litigation, and M&A experience from senior roles at Barrick; geology background enhances technical oversight .
- Board skills matrix flags risk management, operations, industry (natural resources), environmental/climate experience among board strengths; Haddock contributes domain-specific permitting and governance expertise .
Equity Ownership
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership | 31,038 shares (<1% of class) | |
| Common shares (direct) | 5,780 | |
| DSUs (fully vested; payable on separation) | 25,258 | |
| Options | None disclosed for Haddock | |
| Ownership guidelines | Directors must hold ≥3x annual cash retainer; all directors met minimums by Dec 31, 2024 | |
| Hedging/pledging | Hedging prohibited without prior approval; pledging not permitted per Insider Trading Policy; no pledging disclosed |
Governance Assessment
- Committee assignments, chair roles, and expertise: Haddock’s Technical Committee role aligns with his permitting/environment/governance background; he is not a chair, indicating specialist oversight rather than governance control .
- Independence, attendance, engagement: Independent status with strong 2024 attendance (100% board; high committee participation), reinforcing board effectiveness and investor confidence .
- Compensation and ownership alignment: Cash fees taken as DSUs plus additional DSU grants, with director ownership guidelines met, improving alignment and reducing cash leakage; no options/grants that could signal risk-taking incentives .
- Potential conflicts/related parties: No related-party transactions over $120,000; Paulson holds ~34.8% and designates two nominees, which concentrates influence but is transparently disclosed and managed via independent committees and policies; Haddock is not a Paulson nominee .
- Policies and investor safeguards: Majority voting policy, clawback, anti-hedging, executive sessions, independent committees, and ESG oversight are in place—supportive of governance quality .
RED FLAGS: None disclosed specific to Haddock. No low attendance, no related-party transactions, no hedging/pledging, and compensation is equity-heavy via DSUs—generally positive signals for alignment .