Share plans give our people true pride of ownership
March 12, 2018
One of the things that made Barrick different from the start was that our people were owners. Led by our founder, Peter Munk, our early leaders worked as true partners with shared responsibility and accountability. They were laser-focused on creating wealth for our shareholders and the communities and countries in which we operated because a large portion of their personal wealth was held in Barrick shares. They were, simply put, all in.
Today, we are working to recapture that level of commitment across the Company. Just like that first generation of leaders, we want our people to be personally invested in the Company’s long-term performance and success. We want them to be owners.
To that end, we recently took two important steps. On February 27, the Company announced the third grant of common shares since the launch of the innovative Global Barrick Share Plan in 2016, which awards shares to our people based on overall Company performance. These shares are purchased by Barrick on the open market and must be held for as long as an individual remains with the Company.
This year our people will receive 90 shares each. Barrick employees now own more than 1.5 million shares of the Company as a result of the Global Barrick Share Plan, fostering a culture of ownership across the organization.
Building on the success of this program, on March 12 we announced the creation of a new program to incentivize our people to increase their Barrick share ownership. The Barrick Share Purchase Plan (BSPP) will allow our people to buy Barrick shares through a payroll deduction system and be rewarded for doing so by a matching Company purchase up to a value of US$4,000 (C$5,000) per year. These matching shares must be held for as long as an individual remains with the Company.
By investing together as owners, we are reinforcing our commitment to Barrick’s original DNA, fostering a culture where everyone is working as a collective; true partners, all with a personal stake in Barrick’s future.
“This is the standard of ownership to which we aspire,” said Barrick Executive Chairman, John Thornton, in a recent message to employees. “A recognition that everything you do—every decision, every action, or failure to act—affects not only your performance, but our collective ability to generate wealth for our shareholders, of which you are one. When Barrick prospers, you prosper.”