Filed
by
Barrick Gold Corporation
This
communication is filed pursuant to Rule 425 under The Securities Act
of 1933, as
amended.
Subject
Company: Placer Dome Inc.
Commission
File Number: 1-9059
Date:
November 1, 2005
Leadership
at Barrick
Gregory
Wilkins
assumed
the responsibilities of President and CEO in February, 2003, and immediately
focused the Barrick team on creating shareholder value. In so doing, he gave
current expression to the focus that founder Peter
Munk
had used
to shape and guide the new company in the 1980s.
Now,
some
twenty years later, Mr. Wilkins and the team are delivering on this commitment
through careful attention to corporate culture and organization, as well
as
bottom-line metrics.
The
unifying factor for all these initiatives is the corporate Vision
that
drives them: to be the world’s best gold company. Asked to define “best,” Mr.
Wilkins replies, “Best for the person looking at us” - shareholder, employee,
community in which the company operates, or an NGO or host
government.
Central
to this vision is a very particular concept of leadership - the belief that
a
major corporation can only excel if leadership thrives at every level. Today’s
Barrick reflects that belief. It is now a decentralized company, in which
leadership is widely expected and facilitated, and organizational structures
meet the needs of the global enterprise that Barrick has become.
Under
Mr.
Wilkin’s guidance, this concept of leadership is being embedded through a series
of tangible, cumulative measures.
|
●
|
The
senior management group was quickly renamed the Senior Leadership
Team,
underlining the fact that members are expected truly to lead, not
simply
manage, and to work as a team, not focus solely on their own individual
areas.
|
|
●
|
Barrick
has articulated five Values
that make leadership a company-wide affair by providing a clear
model for
everyone to apply, at any level.
|
|
●
|
Career
reviews, training and opportunities now focus on leadership capabilities,
as well as results. (“If you measure leadership, people will focus on
leadership,” says Gordon Fife, SVP, Organizational Effectiveness, who
first came to the company as an outside consultant in 2001, to
guide the
post-merger integration of Homestake assets and people.)
|
Barrick’s
concept of leadership is reflected in the new organizational model. It helps
explain the speed and success with which Barrick has been able to implement
structures and processes that fit its global stature.
|
●
|
Barrick
is now truly decentralized. The company’s Regional
Business Units
(RBUs) are responsible for their own operations and business growth,
with
head office now providing strategic guidance and oversight, rather
than
direct control.
|
|
●
|
The
company has fine-tuned its Barrick
Operating System
(BOS), which in 2002 adapted LEAN management and Continuous Improvement
concepts from the auto industry (Toyota in particular), and applied
them
to company Operations.
|
|
●
|
Those
same principles have now been adapted and developed into equivalent
systems for other key functions, notably Exploration
(BXS) and Safety
(BSS), with Project Development (BDS) soon to follow. Together,
these
systems provide standardized, documented and consistent processes
for the
entire company.
|
|
●
|
They
are complemented by standardized business management processes
such as the
Global Supply Chain Organization, formed in late 2003. This was
the
beginning of supply chain integration, establishing best practice
for
enterprise-wide functional collaboration in procurement and
logistics.
|
|
●
|
Barrick’s
annual business cycle is built around the new dynamic between RBUs
and
head office. Operations Review Teams work with each RBU to conduct
a
yearly review of operations and identify opportunities. The dialogue
continues between the RBU and head office, with monthly follow-up
for the
critical business initiatives that have been identified and the
adoption
of company-wide best practices. In addition, the regions conduct
talent
review, strategic planning, and life-of-mine planning and budgetting
processes.
|
|
●
|
Global
companies - especially ones that have embedded leadership and Continuous
Improvement in their culture - need sophisticated knowledge management.
Barrick has adopted Oracle as its standard, and is implementing
the
enterprise system area by area. The financial and safety systems
are now
in place; Human Resources will follow by February
2006.
|
1.
for
Gregory
Wilkins
Gregory
Wilkins
President
and Chief Executive Officer
Gregory
Wilkins is President and Chief Executive Officer of Barrick Gold Corporation.
He
assumed the position in February 2003 and has been a member of the Board
of
Directors since 1991.
Under
Mr.
Wilkin’s guidance, the Company articulated its statement of Vision - “To be the
world’s best gold company” - and its companion statement of five Values, focused
on personal leadership and responsibility, that define employee behaviour
consistent with that Vision. He recognized the need to develop new structures
for Barrick, suitable to its scale and stature as a major global enterprise,
and
in late 2003 oversaw the successful implementation of the Regional Business
Unit
organizational model. Through this regional structure, the Company is bringing
a
new generation of mines into production. He and his team remain focused on
creating value, by continuing to expand the Company and manage it
effectively.
Mr.
Wilkins first joined Barrick in 1981, prior to its entry into the gold business,
and eventually rose to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer. During those early years, he worked closely with Chairman
and
Founder Peter Munk and other senior members of the team to build Barrick
into a
leader in the gold industry.
In
1993,
Mr. Wilkins left Barrick to become President and Chief Operating Officer
of
Horsham Corporation, which was then Barrick's controlling shareholder. Horsham
later became TrizecHahn Corporation and Mr. Wilkins remained as President
and
Chief Operating Officer until the planning of its conversion to a United
States
Real Estate Investment Trust had been completed and the company relocated
to the
United States.
Mr.
Wilkins is a member of the Cabinet for The Heart for University Health Network
Campaign. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree
from Concordia University in Montreal.
2.
for
Peter
Munk
Peter
Munk
Chairman
- Barrick Gold Corporation
Peter
Munk is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Barrick Gold Corporation.
A
well-known Canadian business leader and philanthropist, Mr. Munk has built
several enterprises that have achieved outstanding performances.
Starting
in 1983, Mr. Munk and his management team have developed Barrick into one
of the
world's most successful gold producers. Peter Munk's business strengths are
evident in Barrick's sound financial management, entrepreneurial character
and
solid balance sheet.
Mr.
Munk
graduated in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 1952.
Among numerous other public honors, he is an Officer of the Order of Canada,
the
country's highest honor for a private citizen.
3.
for
both vision
and
values
The
Vision - The Values
Barrick
has a clear vision of the company it wants to become, and the values its
employees share as they develop the company’s culture of leadership at every
level.
Vision
To
be the
world’s best gold company by finding, developing and producing quality reserves
in a profitable and socially responsible manner.
Values
Behave
Like an Owner
Act
with
a Sense of Urgency
Be
a Team
Player
Continually
Improve
Deliver
Results
All
five
are important, the first and last (Behave like an owner, and deliver results)
deliver the core message, and the first is most important of all. If you
behave
like an owner, the rest follows.
4.
for
Career
Employee
Leadership
Barrick
recognizes that you cannot simply expect people to be leaders. You must help
them know what it takes, measure how well they’re doing, and learn how to
improve. The company has therefore introduced an annual review program that,
in
addition to results, is also focused on leadership capabilities. The process
is
to include all employees from front-line supervisors on up and is now close
to
its goal, with 650 people already involved. Each participant receives an
individual leadership program based on the results of his or her review,
and has
follow-up sessions scheduled throughout the year.
By
year-end 2005, Barrick will also have a targetted program for the “Top 100” -
the people whose ranks will supply the company’s next wave of senior executives.
By developing the required capabilities in advance of actual need, the company
receives benefit now and later: the immediate payback, and the opportunity
to
build on those new skills for tomorrow as well.
5.
for
Regional
Business Units
Regional
Business Units: lead from the field
Barrick
no longer runs everything from head office. The old, centralized model had
served the company well, but the very success of those early years meant
that
Barrick had grown into a complex global enterprise. To continue to manage
its
business effectively, it had to respond to its new reality, and change styles.
Regional
Business Units were the answer. This model, implemented in late 2003, not
only
provides the necessary decentralization, it strengthens - and depends on
- the
corporate culture of leadership at every level. Each regional team has two
key
responsibilities: to optimize its current assets (which is why RBUs are led
by
Operations people), and to grow the business in that region. Head office
continues to provide strategic guidance and oversight, but in a context of
shared leadership.
The
company currently has four RBUs: North America, South America, Australia/Africa,
and Russia/Central Asia.
6.
for
keyword Barrick
Operating System
Barrick
Operating System
The
idea
of the Barrick Operating System (BOS) was born in 2001. Then-COO John Carrington
recognized that simply working harder wouldn’t fully address two key challenges:
containing costs and increasing ounces. With the help of external advisors,
Barrick brought the concepts of LEAN manufacturing and Continuous Improvement
out of the auto industry (notably Toyota), and tested them in two pilot projects
in its own Operations.
The
projects, both in the Goldstrike processing facilities, were a big success.
Costs per ounce dropped as throughput rose, and Barrick began expanding the
approach to other projects and other sites. After considerable consultation,
across regions and company levels, BOS proper was launched in 2002.
In
February, 2003, Gregory Wilkins became President and CEO. He saw that BOS
supported his organizational objectives for Barrick because it fostered
leadership, teamwork, and value creation. It provided a standardized framework
through which interdisciplinary teams, from rock-face employees on up, could
identify opportunities for improvement, work them through, and create value.
They began behaving like owners.
Since
2002, BOS has generated millions of dollars in value creation. Two other
departments, Exploration and Safety, have now used the same core principles
to
develop
their own systems, BXS and BSS respectively, with Project Development (BDS)
soon
to follow.
7.
for
keyword Exploration
Barrick
Exploration System
In
2003,
Alex Davidson (Executive Vice President, Exploration and Corporate Development)
worked with his team to create the Barrick Exploration System - BXS. Using
the
core principles behind BOS (Barrick Operating System), they developed a
consistent system for managing their pipeline of exploration projects more
effectively.
The
group
has also developed an effective model for ensuring that Exploration takes
a
global perspective to its work, despite the various strong regional
affiliations. The regional teams used to operate on a pure geographic basis,
with each one focused entirely on its own program. Now the head of each
regional
team belongs to a global team, where they jointly review all projects from
all
regions.
8.
for
keyword Safety
Safe
and Healthy, Every Day
Systems
alone don’t deliver results; to be effective, they need to be combined with a
strong, supportive corporate culture. In 2003, Barrick began applying this
wisdom to its Safety and Health function.
Key
initiatives to date reflect Safety and Health’s vision statement: “Every person
going home safe and healthy every day.”
|
●
|
In
2003, the group developed a Health and Safety framework that
set
consistent standards for the entire company, and established
the Barrick
Safety System (BSS).
|
|
●
|
Early
in 2004, they introduced Field Level Risk Assessment training
for all
employees and contractors. Everyone is expected to be a risk
manager; the
training provides a standardized methodology for meeting that
expectation.
|
|
●
|
Later
that same year, the group launched “Courageous Leadership,” a mandatory
2-day course for every employee from supervisor to CEO. Its
11 modules
focus on belief, not skills - on the belief that each employee
has joint
and personal responsibility for safety, and the behaviour that
makes the
belief a workplace reality. At the suggestion of course participants,
a
1-day course was developed and implemented for all hourly workers
and
contractors. These courses are now part of the company’s orientation
package for new hires.
|
The
best
measure of results to date, says Don Ritz (VP, Corporate Safety and occupational
Health), is the injury rate from lost-time incidents, because it captures
everything that happens beyond the trivial level of a skinned knuckle.
In 2001,
there were 0.9 incidents per 200,000 hours; the estimated rate for 2005
is
0.3.
Important
Notice
Barrick
plans to file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a Registration
Statement on Form F-8, which will include Barrick’s offer and take-over bid
circular. Investors and security holders are urged to read the offer
and
take-over bid circular, regarding the proposed business combination transaction
referred to in the foregoing information, when these documents become
available,
because they will contain important information. Investors may obtain
a free
copy of the offer and take-over bid circular when they become available
and
other documents filed by Barrick with the SEC at the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov. The prospectus and these other documents may also be obtained
for
free, once they have been mailed, on Barrick’s website or by directing a request
to Barrick’s media or investor relations department.