The CEO of Hootsuite has stepped down after spending the last several months defending a contract between the company and a controversial U.S. government department, making way for the firm’s founder to return on an interim basis.

Irina Novoselsky’s departure and Ryan Holmes’s return were both announced Monday in separate LinkedIn posts, which made no mention of the recent criticism that has engulfed the company.

Holmes said he “couldn’t be more thrilled to be back.”

Novoselsky said she was “incredibly grateful” to have led Hootsuite, but now that she has restored Hootsuite to profitability, she and the board felt it is “the right moment for a leadership transition.”

Holmes founded the Vancouver-based company, which makes social media marketing tools, in 2008. He ran the firm until 2019, when he stepped down. Media reports at the time said Holmes had been shopping around the business for $750 million but failed to find a buyer.

Novoselsky took the helm in 2023, when the dynamics of the social media world were dramatically changing after Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter and Hootsuite was facing a wave of competition and profitability struggles.

The company carried out several rounds of layoffs in recent years but was rebounding by pushing artificial intelligence tools and other offerings available after Hootsuite’s 2024 purchase of analytics firm Talkwalker.

Hootsuite and DHS

However, Novoselsky’s tenure was seen through a more critical lens after the public learned three months ago that Hootsuite has been providing services to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since August 2024.

The DHS oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

ICE has angered many people because of its recent immigration clampdown in the state of Minnesota and the January deaths of two U.S. citizens in federal agent-involved shootings.

News of Hootsuite’s involvement with DHS sparked protests outside the company’s headquarters and demands that Hootsuite cancel its contracts and publicly apologize.

Novoselsky held strong and kept the contract, though she admitted in January that “what we are watching unfold right now is wrong” and called the loss of life “devastating.”

Now that she’s leaving, she said “the focus for Hootsuite’s next chapter is clear: accelerating product development at the intersection of AI and social.”

Under Novoselsky, Hootsuite poured attention into AI-based…

“Additionally, substantive progress has been made on nine additional royalty assets within our portfolio, all of which are located within favorable jurisdictions. Notably, rubidium resources have been added at the Seymour Lake Lithium Project in Ontario, which has received additional mining leases and is currently undergoing a Feasibility Study.

“Meanwhile, product qualification activities at the Eric Sprott-backed Battery Hill Manganese Project in New Brunswick continue to advance, achieving an 80% increase in manganese mill feed grade through improved ore sorting methods as it begins a Pre-Feasibility Study in Q3 2025.

“Extensive geological assessments have been conducted at the Kenbridge Nickel Project in Ontario, alongside efforts to secure year-round site access. At the Mont Sorcier Iron and Vanadium Project in Quebec, an infill drilling program is underway in advance of a Feasibility Study scheduled for release in Q1 2026.

“Northern Graphite, operator of the Bissett Creek Graphite Project in Ontario, has secured financing from the Canadian government and continues to develop its battery manufacturing facility, and the Graphite Bull Graphite Project in Western Australia reported a 345% increase in resources and ongoing success in product qualification. Further, the Zonia Copper Project in Arizona may transition to a new operator focused on commencing production.

“We look forward to updating our shareholders on continued progress across our portfolio of 43 royalties in the coming months.”

Highlights since the Company’s previous update (see Electric Royalties’ news release dated April 16, 2025) include:

Punitaqui Copper Mine (0.75% Gross Revenue Royalty) – On June 30, 2025, Battery Mineral Resources Corp. (TSXV:BMR) (“BMR”) announced that during the period from January 1 to June 24, 2025, it shipped a total of 7,533 dry metric tonnes (“DMT”) of copper concentrates, all produced at the Punitaqui flotation plant in Chile. The concentrates averaged 22.6% copper, amounting to approximately 3,753,273 pounds of contained copper.

6,700 DMT were sourced directly from BMR’s Punitaqui mines, processed at BMR’s Los Mantos mill, then trucked to Terminal Portuario de Coquimbo. The remaining 833 DMT originated from copper-smelting slags supplied by Anglo American Sur S.A. (“Anglo”) under an offtake agreement. These concentrates were delivered to Anglo’s Chagres smelter in Catemu, Chile.

According to BMR, it continues to make steady progress on increasing mine production and the availability of the Los Mantos mill. BMR management has implemented several initiatives to improve the performance of underground mining equipment and increase ore extraction rates, as well as improving mill performance through maintenance programs.

BMR’s near-term goal is to increase production from the Punitaqui mines to approximately 2,000 DMT of copper concentrates per month, and to reach a production rate of approximately 2,500 to 2,700 DMT of copper concentrates per month by the end…