Barrick Gold Strengthens Leadership Amid Strategic Expansion

Barrick Gold names James J. McGuire as Chief Legal & Policy Officer and promotes Woo Lee to Chief Global Affairs Officer, strengthening leadership as it prepares a major North American gold assets IPO by 2026.

Barrick Gold Corporation is continuing its executive restructuring with two key appointments designed to bolster its legal, compliance, and government relations capabilities. This strategic reinforcement comes as the mining giant advances significant corporate initiatives, including a major public listing project.

Executive Committee Welcomes New Legal and Policy Expertise

The company announced that James J. McGuire has been appointed as Chief Legal and Policy Officer, while Woo Lee assumes the role of Chief Global Affairs Officer. Both executives will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Mark Hill and join the firm's Executive Committee.

McGuire joins from law firm Greenspoon Marder LLP, where he most recently served as a Litigation Partner and Managing Partner of the New York office. His background includes experience as a federal criminal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. His new responsibilities at Barrick will encompass legal affairs, compliance, regulatory matters, and public policy.

As part of this leadership realignment, Poupak Bahamin transitions into the position of General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, retaining her seat on the Executive Committee.

Internal Promotion Elevates Global Affairs Strategy

Woo Lee’s promotion to Chief Global Affairs Officer follows an eleven-year tenure with the company. He was previously Senior Vice President of Government & Corporate Affairs for the Asia Pacific region. In his expanded role, he will now oversee worldwide government affairs strategy across all markets and manage relationships with governments and sovereign entities.

Moves Follow Strong Financial Results and IPO Plans

These leadership changes arrive shortly after Barrick released record annual and quarterly figures in February. The company’s fourth-quarter report highlighted several key metrics:

• Gold production reached 871,000 ounces, a 5% increase over the third quarter.
• Revenue stood at $6.00 billion, surging 65% year-over-year.
• Operating cash flow was reported at $2.73 billion, with free cash flow at $1.62 billion.
• Earnings per share came in at $1.43, an 88% jump from Q3.
• The year-end cash balance totaled $6.71 billion, a 65% increase from 2024.

The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, which the company states is 140% higher than the Q3 payout. Barrick also introduced a new dividend policy targeting a total payout of 50% of attributable free cash flow on an annualized basis.

A central strategic focus is the planned initial public offering (IPO) of a new entity (“NewCo”) housing its North American gold assets. The board has authorized preparations for the listing, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Reuters reported that approximately 10–15% of the North American assets are to be floated, with Barrick retaining control. Assets slated for "NewCo" include interests in Nevada Gold Mines and Pueblo Viejo, as well as the wholly-owned Fourmile project.

For 2026, Barrick provided production guidance of 2.90 to 3.25 million ounces of gold. All-in sustaining costs are projected to be between $1,760 and $1,950 per ounce, based on a gold price assumption of $4,500 per ounce cited in the report. Additionally, during 2025, the company repurchased roughly 51.9 million shares for $1.5 billion (about 3.0% of outstanding shares) and returned a total of $2.39 billion to shareholders through capital return programs.

The latest executive appointments signal Barrick's intent to tightly integrate its capital markets agenda—spearheaded by the IPO preparation—with strengthened operational and regulatory governance. Progress on the "NewCo" listing is likely to be a primary driver for the company's strategic direction through 2026.