Key points
- TMC appointed Liam Mallon, former President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company, to its Board of Directors on September 29, 2026.
- Mallon spent 35 years at Mobil and ExxonMobil and oversaw US$20 to 30 billion a year in capital, including Guyana and the US$60 billion Pioneer deal.
- He will lead the Board’s Sustainability and Innovation Committee; Brendan May steps down from the Board.
- The move follows NOAA’s August Federal Register notices on TMC USA’s USA-A and USA-B applications.
- Liam Mallon, former President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company, brings over 40 years of global energy and offshore operating experience, including leadership of ExxonMobil’s worldwide upstream business
- Mallon oversaw $20–30 billion in annual capital deployment and major U.S. shale and offshore deepwater growth initiatives, including ExxonMobil’s landmark Guyana development and $60 billion Pioneer Natural Resources acquisition
- His appointment strengthens TMC’s Board at a pivotal stage as the Company prepares to launch the world’s first commercial-scale deep seabed mineral operations to advance U.S. mineral independence
NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TMC the metals company Inc. (Nasdaq: TMC) (“TMC”, “The Metals Company” or the “Company”), a leading developer of the world’s largest resource of critical metals essential to energy, defense, manufacturing, and infrastructure, today announced Liam Mallon’s appointment to its Board of Directors as it advances plans for commercial recovery of polymetallic nodules in international waters under the U.S. Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980 and its implementing regulations administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”).
Mr. Mallon brings more than four decades of global energy and offshore operating experience, including 35 years with Mobil and ExxonMobil. Before retiring in 2025, he served as President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company and Vice President of ExxonMobil Corporation, overseeing the company’s worldwide upstream portfolio spanning oil and gas exploration, development and operations.
In that role, Mr. Mallon oversaw $20–30 billion in annual capital deployment and led a transformation of ExxonMobil’s upstream business, restructuring its operating model and doubling profitability. He played a central role in portfolio strategy, M&A, and major growth projects, including ExxonMobil’s Guyana development and the $60 billion acquisition and integration of Pioneer Natural Resources, which made ExxonMobil the largest producer in the Permian Basin. Throughout his career, he also managed relationships with governments, national oil companies and ministries across major energy-producing regions.
Mr. Mallon will lead the Board’s Sustainability and Innovation Committee, with a focus on driving innovations that improve offshore project economics and enable rapid scaling of offshore operations while carefully managing impacts.
Liam Mallon commented: “TMC is leading a new offshore critical minerals industry from concept, exploration and technology demonstration to commercial operations. I have spent much of my career developing complex and unconventional resources in challenging environments on land and at sea, and building the organizations to operate them safely and reliably at scale. Bringing that experience to TMC as it prepares to establish the world’s first commercial subsea mining operation on the high seas is a compelling opportunity. I look forward to supporting the team through this next phase.”
TMC Chairman & CEO Gerard Barron commented: “Liam brings the experience that matters as we prepare for commercial operations: delivering complex offshore projects and overseeing major capital investment. His perspective will strengthen our Board’s oversight of execution, capital allocation and risk as we work to translate our resource opportunity into long-term shareholder value. We are building the capabilities to deliver, and Liam’s appointment is an important step forward.”
As Mr. Mallon joins the Board, Brendan May will step down. TMC thanks Mr. May for his important contributions over the past two years, including engaging with various stakeholder communities on the environmental advantages of the Company’s proposed operations.
The appointment of Liam Mallon follows progress on The Metals Company USA LLC’s (“TMC USA”) applications for exploration and commercial recovery of seabed minerals through NOAA’s regulatory pathway. In August, NOAA published TMC USA’s consolidated application for an exploration license and a commercial recovery permit over the USA-A area in the Federal Register. Days earlier, NOAA published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to develop an Environmental Impact Statement for TMC USA’s exploration license application over the USA-B area. These recent developments represent the latest milestones in NOAA’s review process as TMC USA moves closer to commercial production.
About The Metals Company
The Metals Company is a developer of lower-impact critical metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, on a dual mission: (1) supply metals for energy, defense, manufacturing and infrastructure with net positive impacts compared to conventional production routes and (2) trace, recover and recycle the metals we supply to help create a metal commons that can be used in perpetuity. The Company has conducted more than a decade of research into the environmental and social impacts of offshore nodule collection and onshore processing. More information is available at www.metals.co.
