When the price of gold and other commodities fell precipitously in 2013, Vancouver-based Goldcorp Inc. (TSE:G) had already staked out the high ground among the globe’s senior gold producers. And, insiders say, it was the financial and ethical leadership of Lindsay Hall that allowed Goldcorp to maintain its liquidity and investment grade rating and be recognized as one of the most respected companies in Canada.
As of last year, just seven years into Hall’s tenure as executive vice-president and CFO, Goldcorp had experienced an increase in cash flow per share of 83%, an adjusted earnings-per-share increase of 103% and dividend growth of 200%. In the same period, Goldcorp had grown dramatically through strategic acquisitions in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States.
“Lindsay is an exceptional CFO,” said Jim Barron, a partner in Deloitte LLP, who has worked closely with Goldcorp and witnessed Hall in action.
“[Hall’s] unwavering principles of ‘tell it like it is’ and ‘the right thing to do’ have held him in good stead,” Barron said.
An example of this transparency is Hall’s leadership in the mining industry’s adoption of the “all in sustaining costs” (AISC) metric in 2013 to replace the often confusing and variably defined “cash costs” reporting.
Hall is also credited with the implementation of a global enterprise risk management process that has proved critical to Goldcorp’s success.
Despite round-the-world, round-the-clock demands, Hall is a board member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, is a strong advocate for the Special Olympics and has helped raise more than $2.6 million for the United Way.
