For as long as he can remember, Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) president and chief executive officer Chuck Jeannes has been fascinated by mining.
As a native of Reno, Nevada, Jeannes said he "grew up in the shadow of the industry." Mining was even a part of his childhood home – Jeannes' father, a successful local businessman, owned part of a mining venture in Nevada.
So when he embarked on a legal career – after graduating from the University of Arizona – Jeannes decided to focus his practice on mining transactions. And for more than a decade, Jeannes ran a successful law office doing just that.
But he wanted more. He wanted a career change. Jeannes wanted to be a miner.
"I got tired of doing deals that others thought up," Jeannes said. "I wanted to understand the industry better."
So he did. Jeannes took a job as vice-president of the U.S. region with Vancouver-based gold mining company Placer Dome, his largest client.
After his stint with Placer Dome, Jeannes began working with the small, Reno-based junior mining firm, Glamis Gold. It was a change from the day-to-day of Placer Dome, which had global interests, but Jeannes gradually grew the firm and even took mines into production.
In 2006, seven years after he took the helm of Glamis Gold, Goldcorp bought the company and Jeannes found himself back in the majors; first as executive president of business development at Goldcorp, then as president and CEO. Although Goldcorp is the province's second largest mining firm – in 2011-2012 the company generated nearly $5.5 billion in revenue – Jeannes said he routinely uses the valuable lessons he learned from the junior mining world.
"The benefit of working in both sizes is I've seen the best attributes of both. I love the size, strength and capacity of Goldcorp," said Jeannes.
"But we try to retain attributes of a smaller company, stay entrepreneurial and nimble. Goldcorp has grown dramatically, but we keep our focus on a few key attributes, only add people we need and keep from getting bloated."
That seasoned perspective is what makes Jeannes deserving of CEO of the Year, said nominator, former CEO and current Goldcorp chairman Ian Telfer. Having studied the business from different roles and from different perspectives, Jeannes is able to navigate a large company with international properties and inspire employees to pursue a singular, effective vision, Telfer added.
"To be a good CEO, you have to have a vision as to what hill you want to plant a flag on and the leadership abilities to get others in the organization to plant that flag," said Telfer.
"It's vision and motivation, and Chuck is outstanding in those areas. He's worked for big companies and a small company that grew into a big company. From that, he is able to inspire people to want to do what they are doing, not just do what they are asked to do."
Teck Resources president and CEO Don Lindsay, Jeannes' other nominator, echoed Telfer's sentiments. Jeannes is a true veteran of the business, he said.
"He's been through the cycles. This business isn't easy," said Lindsay.
"There are pressures, stresses and strains on a company, but he takes people through it." •
Q&A
What sorts of character traits or leadership styles do CEOs have to cultivate in the 21st century?
Leadership doesn't change. Leadership is always based on common traits – having a vision for the company and being able to communicate that to employees, shareholders and government. Those have always been the
No. 1 attributes of leadership.
We communicate differently now, with tools such as social media, but it's always been about explaining why the business is important.
What accomplishments are you most proud of?
Right now, I'm very proud of the fact that we have managed the business in a way that we haven't had to lay off. We're always looking forward to growth and improving the company but not having to cut back because of a change in the markets.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced?
The greatest challenge is the fact that countries where we do business are often in deficit spending modes and they look at our sector as having money. We've seen a lot of tax increases and resource nationalism as a result. The challenge has been, and will continue to be, how we interact with foreign governments and communicate the benefits of our business such as economic development opportunities. This is something
I spend a lot of time on.
What career decisions would you make differently were you starting out today?
It's hard to say I'd do anything differently – I think I have the best gold mining job in the
world. I do think about leaving
the legal practice; I took a big pay cut to work in the mining world. But, I knew it was the best thing for me in the long run, and it worked out.
What's one business lesson that you'd like to pass on to others?
I read one of Jack Welch's [former chairman and CEO of General Electric] books last year, and in it he said he spent most of his time on people. I appreciate what he was saying. None of this happens without people, and part of your job is letting them do the best job they can. You can never get too far away from people. Unless you have a great team working with you, success isn't possible.
What sorts of character traits or leadership styles do CEOs have to cultivate in the 21st century?
Leadership doesn't change. Leadership is always based on common traits – having a vision for the company and being able to communicate that to employees, shareholders and government. Those have always been the
No. 1 attributes of leadership.
We communicate differently now, with tools such as social media, but it's always been about explaining why the business is important.
What accomplishments are you most proud of?
Right now, I'm very proud of the fact that we have managed the business in a way that we haven't had to lay off. We're always looking forward to growth and improving the company but not having to cut back because of a change in the markets.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced?
The greatest challenge is the fact that countries where we do business are often in deficit spending modes and they look at our sector as having money. We've seen a lot of tax increases and resource nationalism as a result. The challenge has been, and will continue to be, how we interact with foreign governments and communicate the benefits of our business such as economic development opportunities. This is something
I spend a lot of time on.
What career decisions would you make differently were you starting out today?
It's hard to say I'd do anything differently – I think I have the best gold mining job in the
world. I do think about leaving
the legal practice; I took a big pay cut to work in the mining world. But, I knew it was the best thing for me in the long run, and it worked out.
What's one business lesson that you'd like to pass on to others?
I read one of Jack Welch's [former chairman and CEO of General Electric] books last year, and in it he said he spent most of his time on people. I appreciate what he was saying. None of this happens without people, and part of your job is letting them do the best job they can. You can never get too far away from people. Unless you have a great team working with you, success isn't possible.
