De Beers veteran appointed to Dominion Diamond board

by jacquie_dealmeida | January 19, 2016 10:26 am

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Former De Beers Canada CEO Jim Gowans has been appointed non-executive board chair for Dominion Diamond Corp.

The news comes following criticism from Toronto-based K2 & Associates Investment Management over what it says were lost opportunities over the past year for the mining company to increase share value. K2 owns 5.4 per cent of Dominion.

Gowans replaces Robert Gannicott, who recently returned to the company after taking a medical leave of absence.

“Both the company and I have faced certain changes recently,” Gannicott said. “For the company, these represent opportunities, but in my case, they represent medical challenges. I have known Jim throughout his career, especially the parts relating to northern mine development and, later, the diamond industry. It is with great confidence that I anticipate handing over the chairmanship to Jim in the near future.”

Dominion is hoping to appoint Gowans as chair by April 30.

The company also announced the appointment of Josef Vejvoda to the board.

“We are very pleased to welcome Jim and Josef to the board,” said Daniel Jarvis, lead independent director of the board. “These appointments fill the two casual vacancies on the board, and the experience and expertise of these two individuals will make a very positive contribution to the governance of the company. In addition to these appointments, the board will continue its existing search process to identify an additional independent director who can join the board.”

Gowans has served in senior executive roles for a number of major mining companies. He is currently president, CEO, and director of Arizona Mining. Before joining Arizona, he was co-president of Barrick Gold from 2014 to 2015.

Vejvoda has extensive experience with and knowledge of Canadian capital markets. He has served as a portfolio manager at K2 & Associates since 2013.

Source URL: https://www.jewellerybusiness.com/news/de-beers-veteran-appointed-to-dominion-diamond-board/

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