Barrick hires ex-British military commander as chief of staff

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Barrick Gold Corp. has hired a former British special forces commander to act as chief of staff to the gold company's new slate of executives.

Richard Williams, who served for 20 years in Britain's Special Air Service, will be an active participant in the executives' bi-weekly meetings.

He will co-ordinate the executives' activities, monitor the company's progress and help management prioritize issues that require urgent attention, according to a memo sent to Barrick staff.

Mr. Williams will join Barrick at a time of unprecedented change at the world's largest gold producer.

Since John Thornton took over as Barrick chairman in April, the company has overhauled its management team, eliminated the CEO position, dismantled the group in charge of finding new assets and appointed several new board members.

This has led to an exodus of veteran Barrick employees, including its top lawyer.

Mr. Williams, who served in Iraq, is Mr. Thornton's second outside hire for his leadership team.

The Canadian company recently plucked one of the country's leading lawyers, Kevin Thomson, to help with strategy. Mr. Thomson, formerly a partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, was Barrick's main outside lawyer for about two decades.

The two men are joining Barrick during a difficult time for the company and the rest of the gold industry.

Gold miners are facing a prolonged slump in bullion prices and, even after two years of severe cost cutting, are scrambling to remain profitable.

Gold is trading near $1,200 an ounce, down a third from highs reached in 2011.

Mr. Williams was chief of staff for a multi-national brigade in Kosovo, according to the Barrick memo. He will also be responsible for co-ordinating communication among Mr. Thornton, the board and management.

Mr. Williams does have experience in the mining industry. He worked for a company exploring gold in Afghanistan with veteran British banker Ian Hannam.

Mr. Williams and Mr. Thomson start on Tuesday.

Editor's note: A version of this article previously published online stated that Mr. Williams will run the executives' bi-weekly meetings. He will not run the meetings, but will be an active participant in them.