Catherine Raw is now Barrick’s Business Performance Executive Vice President. (Image: Screenshot from ABC News)
Canada’s Barrick Gold (TSE, NYSE:ABX) has lured Catherine Raw, from one of the UK mining sector’s best known fund managers, into joining its executive team as the embattled gold miner deals with weak prices, shareholders anger and potential fines related to its shelved Pascua-Lama project in Chile.
Raw, until now a co-manager at BlackRock’s largest mining fund, is assuming as Barrick’s Business Performance Executive Vice President. According to the company’s website, she will report directly to chairman John Thornton and is expected to play a key role in the struggling company’s strategy development and execution.
“[Catherine Raw’s] background, combining a foundation in geology with over a decade of experience in mining investment, brings a unique skill-set and deep insight to Barrick, complementing and enhancing the capabilities of the company’s leadership team,” says the company website.
The new executive became notorious last year for her highly critical view of most of the world’s largest gold miners’ performance and strategy. She said in December the sector needed “to start seeing some really painful decisions being made.”
Prior to joining BlackRock in 2003, Raw worked at Anglo American (LON:AAL) in London and Johannesburg and as a geological field assistant in Sweden.
She is the first female executive ever hired by Thornton since he succeeded founder Peter Munk as chairman one year ago. He has replaced most of the company’s top executives since then.
8 Comments
JS
As a former employee of Barrick I can say that Barrick not only needs financial managers. As well Barrick requires mining experts to manage their mining operations. A complete sweep is required starting with the HR departments who hire their unqualified friends and relatives. Experienced workers are aware that their supervisors are not qualified and will not support them. In addition to being a former employee, I am also a concerned stockholder.
London Investor
This is a PR related move, presumably to have a senior female exec added to the company. Catherine’s performance at Blackrock was incredibly poor. The fund was one of the worst performing mining funds globally and was plagued with disclosure issues, culminating in the London Mining debacle.
Piet Pompies
Ex AAC, enough said…..
James Bond
JS. I agree. As a former Barrick employee your absolutely spot on. They should bring in an external HR firm and fire all of the HR people they have. Then hire some people who have some success in mining and projects and start from there. Pascua Lama was a great example of HR having too much power in a company. It was a great example of what happens when you have the highest hardest most complex mining project in the world and give it to the most inexperienced and cheapest people you can find. You get the results you dont want to pay for.
Verminh8tor
You could probably pick a person at random on the street and make them CEO of this company and get better results than we’ve seen to date.
kevin
put the right people in the right position at the mines and hold them accountable for performance, again no operational experience so what value could she add????
bob
what political BS, Fire all the managers who do nothing but bulling tactics and make the corporate owners responsible. Peter monk new what was going on and folded his hand to waive blame. Barrick is destroyed when chile courts gives the penalty to lopandia over pacua lama which is non appealable. Sell your shares at a loss or lose in a split deal
shawncorrigan
i wouldnt totally give up on pascua loma, time and money are strong forces.