Barrick Gold exits co-president structure; Kelvin Dushnisky appointed president

TORONTO – Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) says one of its two co-presidents will retire from the company at the end of this year and a number of other senior executives are getting new responsibilities.

Kelvin Dushnisky becomes the sole president immediately while Jim Gowans, who had shared the post since the two men were appointed co-presidents in July 2014, will be a senior adviser to chairman John Thornton until the end of 2015.

“As we become leaner, more efficient and more keenly focused on a smaller number of core assets, we are empowering our leaders in the field to function as true business owners,” Thornton said in a statement Monday.

“Jim Gowans has trained and mentored our mine managers in this mindset for over a year and a half, preparing them to take on more responsibility and accountability.

“As we work to accelerate Barrick’s return to the lean, decentralized model that drove the company’s early success, the time is right to put a structure in place that supports this vision.”

Richard Williams, who had served as chief of staff, will become chief operating officer, while Basie Maree, who was senior vice-president of technical services, has been appointed to the position of chief technical officer.

The company says the management changes are part of its overall strategy to become a more cost-effective business.

Earlier this month, Barrick announced plans to cut expenses by roughly $2 billion by the end of 2016.

The gold miner also slashed its dividend by 60 per cent to two cents per share.

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