Agnico CEO Sean Boyd on succession planning, investing in the North, and working in -79C wind chill – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 2, 2020)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Whoever assumes the top executive spot at Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. will have a tough act to follow. Sean Boyd, 61, is by far the longest-serving senior gold executive in Canada – and arguably the most successful.

An accountant by training, Mr. Boyd was originally the company’s outside auditor, then its chief financial officer and, after the death of company founder Paul Penna, he became its chief executive in 1998.

In the two decades since, the Toronto-based miner has grown from being a small producer with a single mine in Quebec, into the world’s third-most-valuable gold company, with nine mines in three countries. Its share price has gone from $6 to $80.

In 2019, Agnico brought two new mines into production in Nunavut, investing heavily in new infrastructure, including building some 200 kilometres of roads.

The challenges of operating in the Arctic are enormous, and Mr. Boyd has called on the federal government to invest in Canada’s North. Apart from huge industrial infrastructure needs, local Indigenous populations – some of whom are now employees of Agnico – need help with basics such as access to housing and food. He spoke to The Globe and Mail in December.

For the rest of this article: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-agnico-ceo-sean-boyd-on-succession-planning-investing-in-the-north/