As someone who’s just taken on their first board role (with WIM UK, in case you were wondering) I’ve been thinking a lot lately about governance and role that directors can play in shaping the future of the mining and metals industry. As the purpose of mining companies, and the ways in which they operate and deliver value evolve, it’s increasingly clear to me that organisations need to broaden, and deepen in some cases, the capacity of their boards.
In addition to having experience and understanding of traditional mining topics and disciplines, like engineering and geology, today boards also need to be across issues such as environmental, social and governance (ESG), emerging technologies, data management and security, communications…
The best description I’ve come across for the skills set required came from Kaisa Hietala, an independent non-executive director at Rio Tinto, in this paper by Rowan Phendler. In it, she talks about board members having a ‘T shaped’ skill set – the horizontal part of the letter represents a broad understanding of business principles, while the vertical stroke represents specialist insights into a specific theme or sector.
Greater board diversity, not just in terms of knowledge and backgrounds, but age too could also strengthen company oversight. According to Spencer Stuart, the average age of mining directors is 60.7, and chairs and non executives spend an average of 5.9 years in their seat.
While wisdom usually grows with age, it’s worth acknowledging that younger generations i.e., future end users and consumers of metals and minerals, and the people that mining companies will sooner or later employ, often have different expectations and values to those of generations that came before them.
Like many of you, I’m a parent, and I see that my children and their friends who are, for want of a better term, ‘digital native’ and much more climate aware than I, will have very different demands of their future employers, and of the companies that they purchase from and support. Boards need an innate understanding of these viewpoints, and more, if companies are to speak to and earn the trust of future generations.
October on The Intelligent Miner is all about governance and regulation, and we’ll be exploring subjects such as board composition, combatting mining’s impending ‘grey tsunami’, and data security and ethics in depth. Make sure you’re subscribed to read, and I’ll see you back here next month.
Until then… Happy reading.
Carly