# David Cataford Chief Executive Officer ## Career chronology - **2014–cutoff: Champion Iron** — CEO; prior COO and Vice President Engineering. [CEO appointment announcement]() (p.1) - **2011–2014: Cliffs Natural Resources** — Bloom Lake mine superintendent and plant management. [2018 annual information form]() (printed p.56, officer table); [David Cataford named Young Mining Professional of the Year]() (Cataford profile, Cliffs tenure) - **Before joining Champion; dates not identified: ArcelorMittal** — technical operations roles. [FY2026 annual report]() (printed pp.18–19) ## Education and qualifications ### Education and credentials [cataford_education] undated · issuer reported · medium materiality Champion reports a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from Université Laval; an independent institutional record was not obtained. **Attribution:** Responsibility not applicable. The claim is attributed to the referenced source; personal causation is not assumed. **Relevance:** Relevant to professional experience and role assessment. [FY2026 annual report]() (printed pp.18–19 management team) ## Contributions and company outcomes ### Bloom Lake restarted and expanded [cataford_restart] 2018–2022 · documented · medium materiality Champion reports Bloom Lake was recommissioned in 2018 and the subsequent Phase II expansion established a 15 million tonnes per year nameplate capacity. The Northern Miner independently describes Cataford and O’Keeffe acquiring the asset and its 2018 restart. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. CEO/COO roles overlapped team delivery; results cannot be allocated solely to one executive. **Relevance:** Relevant to professional experience and role assessment. [Bloom Lake history]() (project history); [David Cataford named Young Mining Professional of the Year]() (Cataford profile, 2014–18) ## Business failures and setbacks ### Quarterly results show weaker margins despite record sales [cataford_results] Q2 FY2027 · issuer reported · medium materiality Champion reported record consolidated sales of 4.5 million dry tonnes, but a C$48.4 million net loss in the September 2026 quarter versus C$56.8 million profit a year earlier; it cited weaker pricing, freight and startup costs. The period included the acquired Rana Gruber operation. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Role overlaps the company outcome; neither causation nor individual fault follows from a corporate loss. **Relevance:** Relevant to professional experience and role assessment. [FY2027 second-quarter results]() (pp.1–3) ## Industrial safety ### Contractor injured at Bloom Lake construction site [cataford_injury] December 2024–cutoff · documented · high materiality Local reporting says an overhead crane collapsed at the concentrator-2 expansion on 11 December 2024, injuring a contractor employee. CNESST said it was investigating. The investigation’s final findings were not found. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Executive role overlapped the incident; no personal action, fault or causal responsibility was established. **Relevance:** Relevant to operational and contractor-safety oversight. [Overhead crane collapse injures worker at Bloom Lake]() (13 December 2024, accident and investigation paragraphs) ## Environmental record ### Tailings expansion authorised amid environmental criticism [cataford_environment] 2021–2025 · documented · medium materiality Federal regulations authorised waste storage in listed water bodies subject to habitat compensation and monitoring. MiningWatch criticised water-body losses and argued for alternative solutions. The government record describes QIO’s revised alternatives assessment and states that Quebec accepted the project subject to conditions; the dispute concerns the competing environmental assessments. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. The issue concerns company strategy and permits; no personal misconduct or breach is established. **Relevance:** Relevant to professional experience and role assessment. [Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations amendment]() (regulatory impact analysis and compensation conditions); [Summary report on Quebec iron mines]() (pp.11–12) ## Suitability for the current role ### Role fit [cataford_fit] assessment at 31 October 2026 · analyst inference · medium materiality Iron-ore operating and restart experience is relevant to Bloom Lake and Rana Gruber integration, but operating and financial performance reflects team execution and price conditions. **Attribution:** Responsibility not applicable. The claim is attributed to the referenced source; personal causation is not assumed. **Relevance:** Relevant to professional experience and role assessment. [FY2026 annual report]() (printed pp.18–19 management team) ## Evidence gaps - The reviewed public searches do not constitute an exhaustive criminal, sanctions, regulatory, litigation or credential check. - Full prior-employer outcomes and exact tenure dates are not independently verified. - The final CNESST crane-incident investigation, enforcement and remediation outcomes were not located in the targeted searches. - Independent verification of environmental compensation implementation was not obtained; the government describes QIO’s revised alternatives assessment and the conditions attached to approval. - Broad combined name-and-employer queries were reused across topic classifications. Separate comprehensive court, regulator and employer-specific searches were not completed for every relevant topic and employer.