TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The world’s largest gold producer Barrick Gold on Wednesday announced that its president and CEO Jamie Sokalsky would step down as part of an executive management shakeup.

The TSX- and NYSE-listed miner’s board billed the shakeup necessary to position it to “meet the distinct demands and challenges of the mining industry in the twenty-first century”.

Senior executive VP for corporate and government affairs Kelvin Dushnisky and COO Jim Gowans were named as co-presidents with overall responsibility for execution of the company's strategic priorities and operating plans.

Barrick stressed that this model reflected the interconnected nature and strategic importance of jointly managing day-to-day mining operations and the company’s relationships with host governments, local communities and other external stakeholders. As co-presidents, Dushnisky and Gowans would be responsible for the "seamless execution" of both functions at all times.

The miner did not say whether it would appoint a new CEO.

CFO Ammar Al-Joundi would be promoted to senior executive VP and would also work closely with chairperson John Thornton on developing and executing strategic initiatives.

Darian Rich would become executive VP for talent management, a new position with the aim of retaining and developing skills.

“On behalf of the entire Barrick team, I would like to thank Jamie for his many contributions to the development and success of the company over [the last] 20 years. The changes we are announcing today build on the operating model that Jamie and his team implemented over the past year, setting the stage for us to move forward as a nimble, more versatile company focused on shareholder returns,” Thornton said.

During his tenure as CEO, Sokalsky introduced a strategy to prioritise returns and free cash flow over production growth and led a company-wide portfolio optimisation programme. He also spearheaded successful initiatives to reduce costs and strengthen the company’s balance sheet.

Barrick’s TSX-listed stock was trading 2.5% higher on Wednesday at C$20.19 apiece.