Biographical details on our key personnel are incorporated
below. If you are a member of the media and would like to
contact one of the individuals listed, please make contact
with a media point person listed on the media contacts page.
- Gregory C. Wilkins, Chairman
- Aram Shishmanian, Chief Executive Officer
- Marcus S.A. Grubb, Managing Director, Investment
- Jason Toussaint, Managing Director, Investment
- John Calnon, Managing Director, USA
- Ajay Mitra, Managing Director, Indian Subcontinent
- Albert L. H. Cheng, Managing Director,
Far East
- Anan Fakhreddin, Managing Director, Middle East and Turkey
- George Milling-Stanley, Managing Director, Government Affairs
- Jeanette Gooding, Director - Operations
- Dr Richard Holliday, Director, Industrial Sector
Gregory C. Wilkins, Chairman
Gregory Wilkins was elected Chairman of World Gold Council in March 2008. He held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Barrick Gold Corporation from 2003 until 2008, when he became Executive Vice Chairman, and has been a member of the Board of Directors since 1991.
Mr. Wilkins first joined Barrick in 1981, prior to its entry into the
gold business, and eventually rose to the position of Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer.
During those early years, he worked closely with Chairman and Founder
Peter Munk and other senior members of the team to build Barrick into a
leader in the gold industry.
In 1993, Mr. Wilkins left Barrick to become President and Chief
Operating Officer of Horsham Corporation, which was then Barrick's
controlling shareholder. Horsham later became TrizecHahn Corporation and
Mr. Wilkins remained as President and Chief Operating Officer until the
planning of its conversion to a United States Real Estate Investment
Trust had been completed and the company relocated to the United States.
Mr. Wilkins is a member of the Cabinet for The Heart for University
Health Network Campaign. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds a
Bachelor of Commerce degree from Concordia University in Montreal.
Aram Shishmanian, Chief Executive Officer
Aram Shishmanian became Chief Executive Officer of WGC on 5 December, 2008, with overall responsibility for the strategy of the organisation and the management of its staff around the world.
Mr Shishmanian has over 30 years experience as a management consultant working with many of the leading financial institutions operating at board and senior executive levels and has extensive international experience.
He joined Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting) in 1976 and became a partner in 1987. During his career at Accenture he held a number of leadership roles, including Global Managing Partner of the financial markets industry practice which he led for a number of years and subsequently became a senior partner.
On retiring from Accenture in 2003, he was appointed; a Non-Executive Director of Resolution plc, the Senior Non-Executive Director of Victoria plc, a Non-Executive Director of a Swiss based asset-management company and several other companies. Mr Shishmanian has been a Trustee of Marie Curie Cancer Care and a member of the International Advisory Board of the Cass Business School and City University.
In addition to his role as CEO of World Gold Council, Mr Shishmanian continues to be an independent member of the International Executive of Lovells LLP one of the leading global law firms. He also holds a BA in Economics with Honours and an MBA.
Marcus S.A. Grubb, Managing Director, Investment
Marcus Grubb joined WGC in June 2008 to lead the organisation’s investment programme globally. His key role is to drive forward WGC’s research into the strategic role for gold in investment portfolios, catering for the needs of private banking professionals, family offices and endowments, institutional investors and their respective advisors.
Marcus has over 20 years experience in the investment industry and a strong background in financial products, in particular global equities and derivatives. As global head of equities for Rabobank he built and ran the global primary and secondary equities business. Marcus was the founder Chief Executive of Swapstream, the largest inter-bank dealing exchange for interest rate swaps with €8bn of tradable liquidity which is now owned by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Prior to this during the mid-1990s, he was a top-rated investment strategist at UBS, Salomon Brothers and SBC Warburg, Marcus graduated in 1983 from Oxford University with top first class honours in History & Economics.
Jason Toussaint, Managing Director, Investment
Jason Toussaint joined World Gold Council in April, 2009 as Managing Director, Investment and holds overall responsibility for the management and development of WGC-backed gold ETFs and ETCs around the world. He is based in the New York office.
Jason has worked in the investment banking industry for over 14 years with a number of leading firms. Most recently he was Senior Vice President and Senior Investment Strategist at Northern Trust Global Investments. He has also worked for Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan. During his early career he lived and worked in New York and Boston. He then relocated to Hong Kong for five years, where he was responsible for the Asia Pacific region including China, Japan and Australia. For the past four years, Jason has worked in London where his role included assignments across Europe and the Middle East.
Specifically, he is experienced in the ETF market, has developed investment solutions for institutional investors, and contributed to strategy development in the pensions market. He also has a focus on risk models and indices for pension fund investments and managed a significant investment portfolio.
Jason received a bachelor’s degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute before attending the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business where he gained an MBA.
John Calnon, Managing Director,
USA
Prior to first joining the World Gold Council in early 1991,
John Calnon had been Vice President of Merchandise and Operations
for the 70-store optical chain, American Vision Center. His
jewelry experience started at the Zale Corporation in the
mid-80's where he was Executive Vice President of the organization's
Diamond Park division. John's early career was spent with
the Walt Disney Co. where he rose thru the ranks to become
Dir. of Corporate Merchandising based in Burbank. He is a
graduate of University of Florida.
In 2001, John rejoined the WGC after five years at QVC, where,
as Vice President, Jewelry, he orchestrated that organization's
dramatic jewelry sales growth helping it become one of the
largest jewelry retailers in the US.
"During my years at QVC, I gained insights into the importance
of branding, new product development, consumer education,
and how to romance the jewelry products we sell," says Calnon.
"This learning has been instrumental in continuing to grow
today's record level of demand for gold jewelry in the United
States and has provided support my efforts to elevate awareness
and demand for gold jewelry in the U.S. market."
John Calnon is currently Managing Director, U.S. for the
World Gold Council, based in New York City.
Ajay Mitra , Managing Director, Indian Subcontinent
Ajay Mitra joined World Gold Council (WGC) in March 2007, as Managing Director, Indian Subcontinent. His role includes the development of marketing programmes in India, the world’s largest gold market, to increase demand for gold in all its forms. He is also responsible for developing enduring relationships with trade and retail partners and maintaining communications with the Indian Government
Mr. Mitra is a seasoned marketing professional with extensive work experience across the globe. Prior to joining WGC, Mr. Mitra was Commercial Director for Distribution and Marketing company, Melcosmetics in the Russian market. He has also spent 11 years at Coca Cola, holding various roles in both India and Bangladesh, culminating in his role as country manager for Bangladesh between 2002 and 2005. He holds an Economics degree from Xavier's and a post graduate qualification in Marketing Management from Mumbai University.
Albert L. H. Cheng, Managing
Director, Far East
Albert Cheng joined the World Gold Council, Singapore regional
office in March 1993 as a Regional Manager, Planning and Business
Development, Far East, becoming Managing Director, Far East
in 2003 with responsibility for operations in the entire region.
Prior to his many years in gold marketing, he was with Dentsu,
Young and Rubicam, Hong Kong in the early 80's, where he was
responsible for a number of popular and durable consumer products.
He was Account Director when he left.
His career in gold marketing began in July, 1985 when he
joined the Royal Canadian Mint as a Manager for South East
Asia. His responsibilities include market development, regional
sales and promotional support activities for the Mint's numismatic
and Maple Leaf family of bullion products. In April 1990,
he was promoted to Regional Manager, Asia Pacific with added
responsibility in Japan and Korea as well. In 1991, Mr. Cheng
had taken up additional responsibility as to help the International
Olympic Committee, Centennial Coin Programme to build up the
distribution network in Asia Pacific and to market and promote
these coins throughout the region.
A graduate of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Mr. Cheng
holds a degree in Business Administration with a major in
Marketing; he is also member of the CAM in U.K. He is married
with two children.
Anan Fakhreddin, Managing Director, Middle East and Turkey
Anan Fakhreddin was appointed as Managing Director, Middle East and Turkey on 1 March, 2009.
Fakhreddin, 42, was formerly head of the Diamond Trading Corporation (DTC - De Beers) in the United Arab Emirates, based in Dubai, where he held a number of key roles during his eight year tenure.
Prior to his role at DTC, Fakhreddin spent 10 years with American Express in Saudi Arabia where he became Western Regional Manager responsible for the card business unit.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Yarmouk University in Jordan, his native country.
He joins WGC with a wealth of experience within the jewellery market and a good appreciation of the financial markets as well as a strong track record of leadership and relationship management in the region.
Anan lives in Dubai and is married with four children and lists regular exercise and camping among his hobbies.
George Milling-Stanley, Managing Director, Government Affairs
George Milling-Stanley is based in the Council's New York office. In 2002 he became a member of the team that developed Street Tracks Gold Shares (now renamed SPDR Gold Shares), the gold Exchange Traded Fund that was launched on the New York Stock Exchange in November 2004.
Before joining the Council in 1996, Mr. Milling-Stanley worked for six years on the precious metals trading desk of Lehman Brothers, the New York investment bank. His responsibilities included the development of customer business and the firm's research and analysis of the metals markets.
Previously he worked for Consolidated Gold Fields in London, which was at that time the second largest gold mining group in the world. As Chief Precious Metals Analyst, he provided gold market intelligence for the whole group. His duties included researching and writing the company's authoritative annual survey of the world gold industry.
Mr. Milling-Stanley's early career was spent as a journalist, including 10 years with the Financial Times in London, where he wrote about the international mining industry.
An acknowledged authority on all aspects of the gold business, Mr. Milling-Stanley is a regular speaker at international conferences.
Jeanette Gooding, Director, Operations
Jeanette joined WGC in May 2009 as Director, Operations with responsibility for human resources, infrastructure, knowledge management, oversight of IT services and business policies.
Jeanette is a highly experienced and commercially focussed change and human resources professional. She has worked primarily in the financial services industry building and supporting organisations including start-ups. Prior to joining WGC, Jeanette was Head of HR at GSA Capital, a spin-out from Deutsche Bank, where she reported to the CEO, and was responsible for the cultural and behavioural development of the organisation.
She has operated in a variety of environments and has global experience in developing and managing teams, strategy implementation and capability development. Prior to GSA, she held senior positions at Lehman Brothers and Prudential Banking (Egg).
Dr Richard Holliday, Director, Industrial Sector
Richard Holliday joined the World Gold Council in 2001 in the position of Industrial Applications Manager, responsible for developing and promoting the increased use of gold in industrial markets. He now leads the Council’s Industrial Sector, with overall responsibility for technical strategy and knowledge transfer activities, including the Council's programme of research, aimed at uncovering new industrial uses for gold. Richard is a regular speaker at international conferences relating to the industrial uses of precious metals and has an extensive network of international contacts working in science and technology. Richard believes that in the coming years, an exciting array of new industrial and medical uses for gold will emerge from world’s research laboratories, based on gold’s unique technical properties.
Prior to joining the World Gold Council, Richard Holliday was Principal Engineer at Land Rover Design and Engineering, responsible for advanced materials and manufacturing technologies in new vehicle development projects. He has a degree and a doctorate in materials engineering from the University of Wales, is a Chartered Engineer and Scientist and a Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, where he recently served on Council.
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