First Nickel Inc announces that it has hired Mr Sean JF Samson as its new VP and Head of Corporate Development. This is a new position and reflects the company's plans to grow the company well beyond its current, single operation.

Mr Samson has more than 15 years of management experience working across a range of industries. Mr Samson was most recently EVP of Pulse Energy Inc, an energy software company based in Vancouver. Prior to Pulse, he spent five years at Kinross Gold Corporation as VP, Commercial Development. At Kinross, he had diverse, multi functional responsibility which over five years included: supply chain, energy, continuous improvement, merger integration, enterprise risk and capital approvals. When he left Kinross, Sean was leading a team of more than 300 people across eight countries.

Previously Mr Samson was director of strategy and M&A for Centrica North America, helped lead a federal election campaign, was a management consultant at Bain & Company and traded at investment banks in New York and Istanbul.

Mr Thomas M Boehlert president & CEO of First Nickel said that "I am very pleased to have Sean joining our executive team. I have worked closely with Sean for many years and know that he brings a deep and diverse set of skills to First Nickel, which we will be able to leverage as we bring the Lockerby mine back into production and assess growth opportunities. Sean is an action oriented leader with great breadth who is able to persistently challenge the status quo, lead positive change and bring value to companies."