TORONTO - The world's premier gold producer, Barrick Gold Corporation., announced yesterday that 86-year-old founder and chairman Peter Munk will step down from the board at the company's 2014 annual general meeting. His hand-picked successor, co-chair John L. Thornton will succeed him as chairman.
Other board members leaving next spring are Howard Beck and former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Four independent directors will be nominated in their stead. They are Ned Goodman, Nancy Lockhart, Dr. David Naylor, and Ernie Thrasher. The Barrick board will then consist of 10 independent and four non-independent directors.
Effective Jan. 20, 2014, Jim Gowans will be named as VP and COO of Barrick. He has 40 years experience in mining, including time as president of De Beers Canada and CEO of Debswana. He is also the former chair and president of the Mining Association of Canada and president of the Canadian Institute of Mining.
Barrick will also put forward a new executive compensation plan at the 2014 AGM. It is intended to align fully with the pay-for-performance principle. Details will be available in the management proxy circular prior to the AGM.
In the meantime, interested readers can follow Barrick at Barrick.com.
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