General Manager Commercial Mining

Client Background:

Our client, a leading gold mining company with operations spanning multiple sites across Australia and North America, embarked on a critical transformation agenda aimed at enhancing its commercial strategy and operational efficiency. As part of this transition, they identified the need for a GM Commercial who could oversee financial business partnering with both the CFO, COO, and CTO, lead commercial operations, and drive profitability in a dynamic mining environment.

Challenges:

1. Sector-Specific Expertise: The client required a candidate with extensive experience in the mining industry, possessing a strong understanding of the unique commercial demands and regulatory landscape associated with gold mining operations, but also had experience and exposure within a services environment with oversight of tight margins.

2. Strategic and Operational Leadership: The role demanded a professional with the dual capabilities of high-level strategic oversight and hands-on management skills to drive business outcomes across the company’s complex operational framework.

3. Finance and Commercial background: The candidate needed to be a CA/CPA with commercial experience within a business partnering environment, at a senior level within their organisation. This person would also look after supply chain, procurement and marketing.

4. Alignment with Corporate Values: The client emphasised the importance of cultural alignment, seeking a leader who not only had a strong commercial background but also a commitment to fostering a positive work environment and supporting the company’s long-term vision for sustainable growth.

Our Approach:

To address these requirements, we implemented a tailored executive search strategy:

• Targeted Talent Mapping: We conducted a comprehensive search across the mining, services and resources sectors, focusing on candidates with proven experience in commercial leadership roles within mining or closely related industries.

• Global reach: We have offices in North America and South Africa enabling us to reach international candidates.

• Competency-Based Evaluation: Our assessment framework emphasised key competencies such as financial acumen, business partnering skills, and project management, ensuring candidates could address both strategic and operational needs.

• Personality, Cultural and Values Fit Assessment: Recognising the importance of corporate culture, we incorporated in-depth behavioural interviews to evaluate how candidates’ leadership styles aligned with the company’s values and long-term objectives, and assessed the shortlist using our NeuroScience based behavioural tool.

Outcome:

The search culminated in the successful placement of a high-calibre General Manager Commercial with over 25 years of industry experience leading ASX listed teams. The selected candidate brought a track record of delivering commercial improvements, optimising financial performance, and fostering collaborative teams.

Conclusion:

This case highlights our firm’s expertise in navigating complex searches in niche sectors, ensuring alignment of both technical and cultural competencies. By partnering closely with our client, we successfully delivered a tailored solution, successfully positioning the organisation for the next phase of thier transformation.