Jay Taylor has always exhorted those around him to never forget to stop and smell the roses. Yet, the globetrotting chief executive of Placer Dome sheepishly confesses to having too often neglected the fruits of life himself, and failing to strike a proper balance between his career and family.

Taylor finally made his pledge to walk the talk in March when he announced his retirement from the top job at Canada’s second-largest gold miner, and he exudes an air of absolute contentment in winding down an illustrious 32-year career with Placer.

The Vancouver native will douse the lights in his Vancouver office on September 30.Taylor will be 58 on that day – a work-weary, travel-weary 58.

Or, as the car collector likes to put it, “there are a lot of miles on this car.”

Bayne Stanley photo, Business Edge
Placer CEO Jay Taylor exudes an air of absolute contentment as he wraps up a 32-year career at the gold company.

1. Is the timing of your retirement especially gratifying, considering the prosperous times for your company and the gold industry?

“Yes. And I’m surprised at how much interest this has generated. I’m kind of a quiet, humble guy. I’m a little surprised by how many people have called with comments like, ‘Oh my God, you’re too young.’ I really think I’m leaving the company in very good shape and it has a terrific future. I’m really delighted that we’ve been able to produce these kinds of changes during my time at the helm.”

2. How did you arrive at your decision to retire?

“I’ve been thinking about retirement for quite some time. Back when I was in my late 20s, my father passed away prematurely when he was about the age I’m at right now. All of us, I think, have had defining moments in life, and for me I thought when my father passed away, ‘My God, is this what it’s all about?’ You can work very, very hard but you may not get your reward in the end. I think all of us view retirement as a time to be reflective, enjoy your grandchildren and do the things that you couldn’t do before because of time and money. So to see somebody pass on prematurely was quite cathartic for me. I kind of made up my mind that I would get out at 50, so now’s definitely a good time. I’ve had an absolutely fabulous career in mining. I’ve got two older children who are adults who have done very well. And I’ve got a 14-year-old son whom I’d like to spend more time with . . . and, as I recall, there’s a point at about 15 or 16 years of age when they don’t want to be seen riding in the same car with you unless you’re riding in the trunk.”

3. When you reflect on your career, do you regret not spending more time with your family?

“I have a wonderful relationship with my kids, but in a way I feel a little bit of guilt. I’m fortunate to have had a very committed spouse and partner in life who did an absolutely exemplary job of raising my children. They’re astounding and I’m so proud of them. When I think of how little time I contributed back to the family, I do feel guilty. If you talk to anybody in business today, it’s pretty intense. I’ve worked 60-plus-hour weeks for so long I can’t remember. When you’re a CEO today, the demands on your time are enormous. With 18 mines in seven countries around the world in different time zones, you’re taking calls at all hours. I find that as a CEO you never really disengage. You’re often catching a plane on a Saturday night to places like London or Johannesburg. The miles start to show after a while.”

4. Where do you get the most satisfaction out of your job?

“I’ve always been passionate about investing in people, not just my children, but our employees. We collectively have invested a great deal in our employees. I would say that more than 90 per cent of our 13,000 employees are in our mining operations in remote locations, whether it’s in the top of the Andes Mountains or in the jungles of New Guinea. Very often, these people have come from a rudimentary existence. We’re teaching them trades and skills and vaulting them up to where they now have an opportunity to invest in their children and provide opportunities. I literally can see the positive benefits we bestow on communities through our sustainability efforts, giving them a long- term, high-quality job, whether it’s a welder, truck driver, equipment operator or professional. Once you educate one person, you change the whole paradigm for the family. The person who gets an education will do everything they can to see that their children have access to an education. I personally enjoy being able to mentor others. It provides an opportunity to show why I have less hair and grey hair.”

5. To what do you attribute your success in climbing the corporate ladder with Placer?

“I think there are a number of things. I’m not going to blow my own horn, but I know I’ve put in the hours. The people I know in life who have been hugely successful generally have the common denominator of an incredible desire to commit their time and energy. Whether it’s Jimmy Pattison (CEO of the Pattison Group) or any of the other successful people I’ve met in my life, they’ve put in the time and made themselves what they are. I’ve certainly put in the hours. I think it’s also important that I haven’t been really overtly ambitious from the point of view that I had to get somewhere at a certain point in time. I often see that in young people today and I try to coach them out of it. There’s a lot of people with a built-in clock that believe that they can only work for you for two years because then they have to be somewhere else to reach the rungs on the ladder. I spent most of my career not concentrating on the next job but concentrating on the job I had today. I found that opportunities just somehow happened anyway. If you’re in a company like Placer that is growth oriented and continually focused on becoming bigger and better over time, there’ll be opportunities.”

6. What initially sparked your interest in mining?

“When I applied at university, they gave me an aptitude test. It turned out I was very lopsided. They’d ask questions like, ‘Would you rather read a library book to a hospital patient or put a transmission in your car.’ I’d rather put the transmission in my car. This gal said, ‘There’s no grey area here, you really should go into engineering because you’re very mechanically inclined.’ As a kid, I was such an oddball. I took everything apart, like my watch and my dad’s car, just because it interested me. My father didn’t know whether the engine was in the trunk or in the front of the car and he couldn’t care less. Then, I had a very inspiring lecture in Geology 100 that influenced me to go into geology. After I graduated, I worked for one year at a very small mine and by osmosis you pick up what other people are doing. So then I went back to university and got a master’s degree in mining. Having both geology and mining (education) really turned out to be a fabulous blend because I can go out and look at greenfield development opportunities (untapped exploration properties). That’s where the most value is added in our business.”

7. What do you remember about the roots of your career with Placer Development (the predecessor to Placer Dome)?

“I got my first job at an open-pit mine 100 miles west of Prince George. I showed up there fresh and green as spring grass and I’d never seen an open-pit mine. I was a tourist at a lookout point. I went up there as an engineer in training and later I had a tour of duty as the mine manager. I spent 10 years there.”

8. Do you lose sleep over the price of gold?

“You know, philosophically where I come from is that commodities go up and down in price and I don’t spend hardly any time worrying about things I can’t control. So the price of the commodity and the weather are two things I have to respond to but I don’t worry about them. You’re well advised to focus on the things that are within your domain of control and not agonize over things you can’t control.”

9. When you became CEO five years ago, gold was under $300 US an ounce. Today, it’s in the $420 range. How difficult was it to operate in that environment?

“It was very difficult. I have long argued that with gold prices below $350, you’re not going to have a sustainable gold sector.

"The other thing I learned a long time ago is that if the price goes down dramatically to the point where a number of operations cannot make cash flow, it is an unsustainable situation that will correct itself and correct dramatically. So when gold went below $300, I viewed that as opportunity knocking and we did some things to position ourselves to grow. The AurionGold transaction came out of that, and we still felt when gold was north of $300 we needed to make the North Mara acquisition (the Tanzanian mine owned by East African Gold) last July. We’ve been proven right.”

10. What’s your outlook for the price of gold?

“Gold seems to be settling into a trading range between about $395 and $430. I think that we may see this persist for some period of time, driven I think largely by a continued depreciation in the U.S. dollar where there are still some fundamental issues that need to be worked out. I think that on a longer-term basis, you can make a compelling case for gold moving higher than it is right now, in a measured sort of way, if you can believe that. And I think that’s really related to the scarcity phenomenon. When I look at the projects and discoveries that are out there, for the most part they are going to need higher gold prices to justify their development. All of us are working with a non-renewable resource that is winding down. So if no new mines get built, overall there will be contraction of supply.”

11. What are you proudest of, from your tenure as CEO?

“I’ve been involved in a number of (mine) turnaround situations that have been extremely gratifying, restarting mines that had been dormant for long periods of time. I’ve been involved in refashioning or right-sizing mines to make them economic again and I’ve been involved in greenfield mine development in a number of places. I guess I would have to say that in the last five years I’ve run this company, I’ve been able to exert my will on the organization and that’s been rewarding as it were.”

12. What does the mining industry need to do to put the Bre-X scam behind it and restore investor confidence?

“I am shocked at what’s gone on, not just with Bre-X but with some of what we’ve seen in corporate America over the last couple of years, including at Nortel in Canada. We can put better governance in place, and certainly some things are being done there, but I’ll tell you, it is amazing that some people who get to the lofty positions such as CEO have the kind of behaviour we’ve seen in testimony presented in various tribunals. I think most CEOs would probably tell you the same thing. They’re stunned by this. I belong to the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and I can tell you that there’s a very high level of ethical behaviour practised today. Unfortunately, all it takes is one person at a high level with a large, influential company to drag us all down into the mud. You’re dealing with an entourage rather than just an isolated bad individual. I think that rulemakers can make rules but I think we’re still vulnerable if people collude to produce a nefarious and self-serving outcome. That’s the reality.”

13. What’s your main priority before you leave Placer?

“My main priority, quite frankly, other than running a stable ship here and making good decisions, is to assist the board in getting the right successor in place. I’ve given some thoughts to the board and we’ve certainly got a strong succession plan. There are some very credible internal candidates but, as I’ve told the board, in this era of governance you’d be well advised to cast the net abroad to make sure there isn’t somebody out there who compares well or should be considered. Of a number of internal candidates, any one of them would do a very good job.”

14. What’s one important piece of advice that you’ll have for your successor?

“Have fun. I had a lot of fun in my own way, but it has been terribly draining on my family because I really haven’t been around very much. I’d tell (the new CEO) that I’m passing some advice on to you that I pass on to other people that I don’t follow. I don’t take enough time off to smell the roses and that’s why I’m retiring. Being a CEO of a major international company is a little bit like driving a Formula One race car.


You can’t cruise by the stands, waving at the fans. You have to put the pedal to the metal because it is a race. And when you’re tired of racing, get out of the cockpit.”

15. What style of leadership has worked best for you?

“Given that we deal with so many cultures and personalities inside the company and in the countries in which we do business, there are times when you have to be an autocratic leader and there are times when you have to be very empathetic and compassionate. If you want to run a successful company, you have to have a motivated and well-trained workforce that shares your views and objectives, and they have to know that you have their interests at heart as a leader. That’s why you have to be vigilant to make sure you’re competitive in salaries. You have to be supportive of the host community where you draw your employees from to make sure they get a good quality of life. That’s why I’ve been involved with building training schools, schools, housing, putting in water and power and supporting the arts. If you do that and commit to the health, welfare and social well-being of the people, you’ll end up with people who feel pretty good. If the employees know you care about them, we win people over.”

16. Where do you foresee Placer Dome’s growth and exploration success coming from in the next decade?

“Right now, we have a strategic thrust to invest right in our backyard where we already have processing facilities. So my instructions to my subordinates are that, wherever we have processing plants, get as much prospective land as you can and explore. Two-thirds of our operating budget has been thrust right into our backyard and we’ve had tremendous success there. We are going into all the top goldbelts in the world. I’ve now travelled to seven or eight African countries and it’s stunning to me what’s available there for gold. We will continue to see active exploration on the African continent and more mines development. That means we’ll have to go into some areas where the socioeconomic issues are very profound and we’ll have to deal with issues like AIDS and abject poverty and severe disparity between incomes and education.”

17. Do you anticipate more growth by acquisitions?

“I think you have to do acquisitions well. I think there are times when you do acquisitions and times when you do exploration. Right now, with the rather rapid runup in the gold price of the last two years, vendor expectations of greenfield properties are quite high.

This is a time when you want to switch to an organic growth program. We can grow organically quite well. However, if somebody has a good property that needs a quality partner that has technical and financial resources, which we have both in spades, we could go in and be a preferred partner.”

18. How do you think you’ll feel when you turn out the lights in your office?

“I’d feel good if I turned them out tonight. I feel so good about how lucky I’ve been in my life. And it is luck, a lot of it. I can look back on my career as being a hugely successful experience from my perspective. I don’t see the problems I’ve created. I’ve probably created quite a few of them (problems), but my nature is to look forward, not back at all. On the rare occasion that I look back, it is to try and prevent a mistake from happening again. If you’re looking back for any other reason than that, you’re in the wrong place.”

19. Has success changed your lifestyle?

“The thing I can’t change is who I am. I can’t spend $6,000 (US) on a shower curtain like Dennis Kozlowski (the former CEO of Tyco). If I had a trillion dollars, I’d still be looking to buy what’s on sale. Being affluent, I could drive any car I wanted to but I drive a Chevrolet Tahoe (SUV). It’s practical and anonymity is very desirable to me.”

20. What are some of the things you can’t wait to do in retirement?

“I’ve had some invitations to get involved in directorships of mining ventures, so I don’t think keeping busy will be a problem. But I think what I’ve got to do more than anything is to go home and spend some quality time with my family and travel with my wife and son who is at home. I’ve got quite a car collection and they’re in need of my time and attention. I get a lot of enjoyment – practical hands-on things – with my hands. I’m also toying with the idea when I retire of taking a Fine Arts 100 course in university, if they’ll let an old guy like me into school. I just think that there’s more to life than science, and unfortunately I’m terribly ignorant. But I’ve travelled around the world a lot and seen some of the treasures. I’ve been to the Louvre several times. Unfortunately, I feel lopsided and what I’m missing is the education or background part of why the Mona Lisa, for example, is the attraction it is. Unfortunately, as an engineer, I tend to look at it as a painting of an enigmatic woman of an indeterminate age. I can’t get any further than that. But I know there’s a story there.”

IN PROFILE: Jay Taylor
* Title: President/CEO, Placer Dome Inc.
* Born/raised/age: Vancouver; 57.
* Resides: Blaine, Wash.
* Education: University of British Columbia, bachelor of applied
sciences in geological engineering, master of engineering in mining.
* Career: Taylor has been CEO of Placer Dome since February 2000, and recently announced his retirement, effective September. 30. Prior to being appointed CEO, Taylor was president/CEO of Placer Dome North America and, prior to that, president/ CEO of Placer Dome U.S.A. He has spent the past 31 of his 32 years in the mining industry with Placer Dome (formerly Placer Development).
* Passion: Collecting cars, changing their transmissions.

THE COMPANY: Placer Dome Inc.
* Title: President/CEO, Placer Dome Inc.
* Brass: Jay Taylor, president/CEO; Robert Franklin, chairman; Rex McLennan, executive vice-president/chief financial officer.
* Profile: Placer is Canada’s second-largest gold mining company and the world’s sixth-largest gold miner with 18 mines spanning five continents. The company’s global workforce is 13,000.
* 2004 Production Estimate: 3.6 million ounces of gold, 400 million pounds of copper.
* Recent Quote (PDG-TSX): $23.55 (52-week range, $13.66-$24.50).
* Website: www.placerdome.com
* Head Office: 1600,1055 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver, V7X 1P1.
* Phone/Fax: 604-682-7082, 800-565-5815/ 604-682-7092.