Genesis Minerals promises focus on corporate governance as CEO Raleigh Finlayson becomes executive chair

Raleigh Finlayson has taken firm control of Genesis Minerals, elevated from chief executive to executive chair in a change the gold miner says won’t change its commitment to good corporate governance. The appointment was announced with the promotion of Genesis chief operating officer Matthew Nixon to chief executive, with outgoing non-executive chair Tony Kiernan to remain on the board as lead independent director. Appointing an executive chair in preference to an independent non-executive chair is not considered best corporate practice, but Genesis said the change would see Mr Nixon take control of the miner’s day-to-day operations, leaving Mr Finlayson to focus on longer-term strategy and development. Duncan Coutts will provide further oversight of the company’s mines as a lieutenant to Mr Nixon as executive director of operations. Mr Kiernan said that as part of his new role, he would “have a strong focus on corporate governance while working with the team to unlock the full value of our assets”. Mr Finlayson is arguably WA’s best known gold mining boss, and one of its richest. Having merged Saracen Minerals with Northern Star Resources in 2020, the Kalgoorlie School of Mines graduate was parachuted into Genesis three years ago by a board keen for him replicate his success at Saracen. Under his management, Genesis has quickly become a force in the WA gold industry, consolidating the Leonora gold district and riding rising prices for the metal to crash into the ASX100. The company’s shares have hit a series of rolling record highs over the past year, early Thursday reaching a new peak of $8.26 to value Genesis at $9.4 billion. On that basis, Mr Finlayson’s personal shareholding in Genesis alone is now worth nearly $300 million. He said on Thursday that his new role as executive chair would enable him “drive the longer-term strategy while also being available to guide higher-level corporate and operational matters, including talent identification and leadership development”. Mr Kiernan had “done a stellar job as chair” and .... “will continue to bring invaluable experience, particularly on the corporate governance front, in his new role as lead non-executive director”. More to come.