Mr. J. Cameron MacDonald reeports

THE WESTAIM CORPORATION ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS

The Westaim Corp. has made a series of executive leadership appointments, effective April 1, 2026, intended to advance the company's long-term strategy and strengthen its operating capabilities:

• Matthew Skurbe will become president and chief operating officer of Westaim. In this new role, Mr. Skurbe will leverage his over 25 years of broad financial services experience, which has included investment management, risk management, capital markets, operational and financial responsibilities, to oversee strategic and operational initiatives across Westaim's platform.
• Nikita Klassen will join Westaim as chief financial officer, where she will be responsible for leading all financial and control processes for the company.

"By deepening our financial, strategic and operating capabilities, these appointments position Westaim to fast-track growth across our integrated insurance and asset-management platform," said J. Cameron MacDonald, chief executive officer of Westaim. "We are building a leadership team with the experience and discipline required to expand this platform to the next level, manage risk effectively and generate enduring value for our shareholders."

"I am thrilled for the opportunity to deploy the full breadth of my capabilities developed over a 30-plus-year career, including over 25 years of financial services and capital markets experience, to help drive value for our shareholders across the platform through this expanded role. We are fortunate that Nikita Klassen agreed to join Westaim, where she will bring her wealth of directly relevant career experience to lead Westaim's finance function, and I am honoured to be part of this growing and impressive leadership team," said Matthew Skurbe.

"The company is entering a new phase of acceleration following last year's strategic combination of Westaim, Arena and Ceres Life," said Chinh Chu, executive chairman of the Westaim board of directors. "Cam and the team have assembled a highly complementary group of leaders who reflect the ambition and scale of Westaim's unique platform."

Mr. Skurbe joined Westaim in April, 2025, as chief financial officer and chief risk officer. Prior to Westaim, he served as a senior managing director, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of CC Capital. Prior to CC Capital, Mr. Skurbe was a managing director in finance and the treasurer for Blackstone. He was also the COO and portfolio manager for Blackstone Liquidity Solutions, and a member of the firm's valuation committee and enterprise risk committee. Before joining Blackstone in 2009, Mr. Skurbe was the CFO for Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust, a multibillion-dollar bank housing several of Merrill Lynch's consumer lending and banking businesses. Earlier in his career, Mr. Skurbe spent seven years supporting Merrill Lynch's treasury function, and held roles with Amerada Hess and Arthur Andersen LLP.

Ms. Klassen brings more than 15 years of financial leadership experience and expertise in accounting policy, advisory and public company operations. She joins Westaim from Mount Logan Capital Inc., where she served as chief financial officer and corporate secretary. At Mount Logan, she played a key role in the firm's transition from the Toronto Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq Stock Market, including oversight of the U.S. listing process and S-4 filing. Earlier in her career, she served as managing director and head of accounting policy at Silicon Valley Bank, and also held senior accounting policy roles at Galaxy Digital and American Express.

About The Westaim Corp.

Westaim is an integrated insurance and alternative asset management company with two primary operating businesses: Ceres Life and Arena.

Ceres Life is a cloud-native, highly scalable, de novo annuity insurance company. Inspired by the belief that technology can reinvent the way insurance providers meet the needs of investors, Ceres Life is building a nimble, highly efficient and risk-conscious insurance company that provides simple-to-understand and easily accessible annuity products to create better outcomes for policyholders. Ceres Life is led by Deanna Mulligan, former chief executive officer and chair of Guardian Life Insurance.

Founded in 2015, Arena is a global institutional asset manager with deep expertise in credit and asset-oriented investments, including the full spectrum of corporate, real estate and structured finance opportunities. With a team of over 180 employees in offices around the world, Arena provides creative solutions for those seeking competitive capital and flexibility to engage in custom transactions.

Westaim's common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol WED.

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