In a surprise move, Placer Dome (PDG-T) CEO Jay Taylor has announced that he will retire at the end of September, ending a five-year stint at the helm of the world’s sixth biggest gold producer.
Taylor will remain with the company in an advisory role through March 2005.
Robert Franklin, Placer’s chairman, said the board accepted Taylor’s decision with regret and that over the next six months the board will, with Mr. Taylor’s help, manage a smooth transition. The company says it will consider both internal and external candidates.
Taylor said the company has gone through substantial changes during his tenure and now has 18 mines on five continents.
“I have accomplished the objectives I set for myself and this company when I became CEO and believe now is the appropriate time to turn over the company to a new leader,” he said.
“My successor must, and will be able to, lead a global company with mines in diverse cultural, environmental and operational settings. I will do everything I can to ensure the new CEO’s success,” he added.
"Under his leadership we made significant acquisitions and enjoyed impressive exploration success while improving the focus on our core, low-cost operations and advancing our promising development properties,” Franklin said.
Placer Dome recently posted sharply higher fourth-quarter earnings of US$81 million (or 20 per share) on US$492 million in sales, up from year-ago net earnings of US$6 million (or 2 per share) on US$355 million. The increase is thanks to acquisitions, which helped the company to boost quarterly production to more than 1 million oz. its highest quarterly output in history.
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