Professional Documents
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Eira Thomas
In The Directors Chair with David W. Anderson: Eira Thomas, storied geologist turned founder, director, CEO
and chair, says sharp stakeholder relations and smart governance are making winners in mining today
Photography by Brian Howell
Eira Thomas burst onto the Canadian mining scene in the 1990s, leading
the Aber Resources Ltd. field exploration team that discovered the Diavik
diamond project pipes in the Northwest Territories. By the time Diavik went
into production in 2003, as Canadas second diamond mine, Thomas had
been a director at Aber (now Dominion Diamond Corp.) for five years. In
2006, she added large-cap energy governance to her tool kit, becoming
a director at Suncor Energy Inc. Since then, shes held numerous directorships
while continuing to build and run her own companies. Here, in conversation
with governance adviser and Listed contributing editor David W. Anderson,
Thomas shares insights shes gleaned in her various mining roles, and
weighs in on the major trendsfrom First Nations relations to board
diversitynow shaping the sectors future.
Eira Thomas
Primary role
President and CEO, Kaminak Gold Corp.
Additional roles
Director, Suncor Energy Inc.; Director, Dundee Precious Metals Inc.; Director, Lucara Diamond Corp.; Director,
University of Toronto Alumni Association; Director, Lassonde Advisory Board of the University of Toronto;
Member, University of Toronto Presidents Internal Advisory Council
Former leadership positions
President, CEO and Director, Stornoway Diamond Corp.; CEO and Director, Stornoway Ventures Ltd.; President,
Navigator Exploration Corp.
Former chair and director
Executive Chairman, Stornoway Diamond Corp.; Director, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada;
Director, Aber Resources Ltd.
Education
University of Toronto, Bachelor of Science in Geology, 1990
Honours
kCanadas Top 40 Under 40, 2004
kThe William Harvey Gross Award, 2007
kTop 100 Canadas Most Powerful Women, 2007
kYoung Global Leaders, 2008
kCanadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Past Presidents Memorial Medal, 2009
kMinerva for B.C. Women Natural Resources Award, 2010
Current age
45
Years of board service
16
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Eira Thomas
business and know it intimately. How important is it for a corporate leader to have come from the field?
Eira Thomas It is very important to learn a business from the bottom
up. I went from being a geologist collecting dirt samples to being CEO
reporting to my board. If you aspire to be a leader in business, its essential to have a strong background in how the business worksand
to get your experience on the frontlines. Demonstrating that I understand the building blocks of my business gives me credibility with
my board. That hard-won knowledge of the business gives me extra
insight to better explain and position my decisions with my team
and with my board. I think an executive who hasnt grown up in the
business can use experiences from related businesses for insight, but
theres no way around the fact that growing up in a business and seeing
first hand its many facets make you better informed and able to understand the consequences of your decisions.
David W. Anderson What does your frontline experience in years
sion-making as a leader?
Eira Thomas I dont spend much time in the field now, but my prior
experience remains relevant and helps me make the right decisions for the business today. The experience of working directly
with samples and field data means that I can interpret the data
unfiltered, see the relevance of the information and quickly distil
the bottom line results. While thats useful as the CEO, whats at
least as important is that my experience allows me to choose good
people who are current in a variety of specialties the business requires. I cant stay on top of all the scientific disciplines that make
for a successful mining company. I need that cross-disciplinary
approach to succeed; with the right team in place, I can then rely
on their expertise to meet our companys objectives. In fact, I
need to remain open-minded to technical innovation and not let
my experience keep me in the past.
David W. Anderson Youve led from the front in this new era of
engagement with First Nations and other local communities.
Whats motivated you to see these communities as important
stakeholders?
Eira Thomas The communities in which we are located are important because they give us our social licence to operate. We
purchase that license with our honest engagement and provision
of community benefits. As the world becomes smaller, were all
more aware of how we affect each other. While these are good
things to do they are also business necessities. Our approach is
to create dialogue and keep our communities knowledgeable and
comfortable as we progress. We think about how to maximize the
opportunities and benefits with stakeholders to make it meaningful and productive for the bottom line.
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Eira Thomas
pany preoccupation that wears at the nimbleness of small companies, but youre offering a different view?
Eira Thomas I think its about matching the right level of governance rigour to where the company is at. We need to understand
that success at the outset rests on the shoulders of the entrepre-
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