Leadership Changes at Gold Fields
March 31 2008 - 7:12AM
PR Newswire (US)
JOHANNESBURG, March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Teleconference
Gold Fields will host a teleconference on Monday, March 31, at
16:30 Johannesburg time, regarding this announcement. Details of
the teleconference appears at the bottom of this press release. The
Board of Gold Fields Limited ("Gold Fields") (NYSE:GFI), (JSE:GFI),
(DIFX: GFI) wishes to announce that, after a distinguished nine
years with Gold Fields, the last six as Chief Executive Officer,
Ian Cockerill has decided to step down. He will be joining a
company outside of the gold industry, the name of which will be
announced later in the week. Ian will be succeeded by Nick Holland
who has been the Chief Financial Officer of Gold Fields since its
inception in 1998. In a complimentary move, Terence Goodlace,
Executive Vice President and Head of South African Operations, will
be appointed to the new position of Chief Operating Officer, and as
a member of the Gold Fields Board. A new Chief Financial Officer
will be recruited to replace Nick. The Board also wishes to
announce that, unrelated to Ian's resignation, John Munro,
Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, has resigned to
take up the position of Chief Executive Officer of a new uranium
company. John's executive responsibilities for Corporate
Development will be assumed by Jimmy Dowsley, Senior Vice President
for Business Development. In a supporting move, Juan Luis Kruger,
Senior Vice President and Head of Operations in Peru, will be
appointed to the Gold Fields Executive Committee, to head up South
American Operations. Alan Wright, Chairman of Gold Fields, said:
"In his nine years with Gold Fields, Ian has made a tremendous
contribution to the Company. He very effectively established Gold
Fields as a global player with world-class operations in Africa,
South America and Australia, as well as a large portfolio of
exploration projects in all of the major gold provinces of the
world. Particularly valuable, especially at this time, is the
excellent succession strategy that Ian has put in place. Gold
Fields' depth of management is unrivalled in the industry, and made
it relatively easy for the Board to decide on his successor."
"While we are sad to see Ian leave so soon before Gold Fields will
start reaping the rewards of the Cerro Corona project in Peru,
which will come into production by the middle of the year, and the
South Deep Project in South Africa, we respect his decision to move
on. We thank Ian for the outstanding contribution that he has made
to Gold Fields, and wish him well in the next phase of his career.
Both Nick Holland and Terence Goodlace are veterans of the gold
mining industry and their depth of knowledge of Gold Fields
specifically and the industry generally, is unrivalled. With the
Holland/Goodlace team at the helm during an exciting growth phase,
the future remains bright for Gold Fields," Wright added. Ian
Cockerill said: "The decision to leave Gold Fields was not an easy
one but I have always believed that a CEO has a shelf life of about
six to seven years. As Gold Fields enters the next and very
exciting phase of its growth and development, with Cerro Corona and
South Deep, as well as the expansion at Tarkwa, being brought to
account, it is time for a fresh hand at the rudder. As a
substantial shareholder I am very comfortable with the new
leadership appointed by the Board." Nick Holland, CEO Designate of
Gold Fields said: "I am both humbled and energized by my
appointment as Chief Executive Officer, at a time when Gold Fields
and its shareholders are poised to reap the benefits of a number of
new gold projects against the backdrop of a higher gold price
environment. I intend to build on the solid foundation which Ian
has laid over the past six years, and to lead Gold Fields to new
heights." Terence Goodlace, COO Designate said: "Gold Fields has in
its portfolio some of the best and most exciting gold assets in the
world. My new role is to re-energize the operational teams so as to
ensure that we deliver on our undertakings to shareholders. In
addition to ensuring that the existing operations perform to their
potential, our priorities in the short term are to deliver the new
Cerro Corona mine on time, to complete the Tarkwa expansion, and to
turn the South Deep project to account." Alan Wright also thanked
John Munro for the significant contribution that he has made to
Gold Fields over the years: "On his watch Gold Fields acquired the
St Ives and Agnew mines in Australia as well as the Teberebie and
Damang mines in Ghana. John was also involved in the acquisition of
the Arctic Platinum Project in Finland and the Cerro Corona project
in Peru, as well as the disposal of the Choco 10 mine in Venezuela.
He has made a significant contribution to the shaping of Gold
Fields Limited as it is today, for which we thank him. While we are
sorry to see John leave, we also wish him the best of luck in his
new career." John Munro said: "Gold Fields has been at the centre
of my professional life for the past 21 years. Whilst I have not
taken this decision lightly, I feel it is the right time in my
career to take on a new challenge. I wish Nick and Terence and the
rest of the team every success in the future." All of these changes
will be effective as from 1 May 2008. About Gold Fields Gold Fields
Limited is one of the world's largest unhedged producers of gold
with attributable production of more than four million ounces per
annum from eight operating mines in South Africa, Ghana and
Australia. A ninth mine, the Cerro Corona Gold/Copper mine in Peru,
is expected to commence production by mid 2008 at an initial rate
of approximately 400,000 gold equivalent ounces per annum. The
company has total attributable ore reserves of 92 million ounces
and mineral resources of 252 million ounces. Gold Fields employs
some 53,000 permanent employees across its operations and is listed
on the JSE Limited South Africa (primary listing), the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Dubai International Financial
Exchange (DIFX). All of Gold Fields' operations are ISO14001
certified. For more information please visit the Gold Fields
website at http://www.goldfields.co.za/. Teleconference Monday
February 25, 2008 For Johannesburg: 16:30 For United Kingdom: 15:30
hours BST For North America: 10:30 a.m., Eastern time Gold Fields
Limited will be hosting a teleconference to discuss the change in
leadership on Monday, 31 March 2008 at the times listed above. Dial
In Numbers South Africa Toll: 011-535-3600 Toll-free 0800-200-648
USA Toll: +1-412-858-4600 Toll-free +1-800-860-2442 Australia
Toll-free 1-800-350-100 United Kingdom Toll-free 0800-917-7042
Canada Toll-free +1-866-519-5086 Ask for Gold Fields call
Simultaneous Audio Webcast Available at our website,
http://www.goldfields.co.za/ Digital Replay Available One-Hour
After Call Playback code: 2541# (Available for seven days) South
Africa & Other: +27-11-305-2030 USA: +1-412-317-0088 United
Kingdom: 0808-234-6771 Europe: +41-91-612-4330 (Switzerland)
Australia: 1-800-091-250 DATASOURCE: Gold Fields Limited CONTACT:
Enquiries: Gold Fields Limited, Willie Jacobsz, Office:
+1-508-358-0188, Mobile: +1-857-241-7127; Gold Fields Limited,
Andrew Davidson, Office: +27-11-644-2638, Mobile: +27-82-667-7203.
Brunswick: Rob Pinker/Roderick Cameron, Office: +27-11-502-7300,
Mobile: +27-83-326-7794/+27-82-887-4593. Enquiries re
teleconference: Francie Whitley, Phone: +27-11-644-2505, Fax:
+27-11-484-0639,
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