Beamentplanning to have fun at Venturex
OUTGOING NorthernStar Resources executive chairman Bill Beament says he plans to build thecompany he’d always envisioned when he starts at Venturex Resources on July 1.
In February, itwas announced Beament would leave Northern Star after 14 years after taking thecompany from a A4c shell to the $13 billion gold major it is now. He'll join juniorcopper-zinc developer Venturex and will also own about a third of the companyafter putting in $37.3 million of a $58 million recapitalisation. "It's a bigstep - going from about 5500 employees down to about 10," Beament toldOphir Asset Management senior portfolio manager Andrew Mitchell on a webcastyesterday. Beament said he'dhad a vision of the sort of company he wanted to build since graduating fromthe WA School of Mines as a mining engineer in 1996. "Now I getto create the business model I've always wanted to create," he said. Beament said hesaw where the mining industry was heading on a number of different fronts. "I think I'mabout three or four steps ahead of that," he said. "I see abusiness model that's going to be extremely powerful and a lot of fun." As he did atNorthern Star, Beament said building a strong team was paramount. "They whoholds and controls the mining talent, particularly underground mining talent,is absolutely going to dominate," he said.
Venturex owns theshovel-ready Sulphur Springs copper-zinc asset in the Pilbara. Beament describedit as a "cornerstone asset that goes on to create a multibillion dollarcompany". He describedhimself as driven, competitive and an entrepreneur. "My dad wasan entrepreneur and he taught me to back my ability," Beament said. "He alsosaid to me not to work for anyone else if I can help it, which is hard when youwork for a public company."
Beament saidevery company needed a visionary and an integrator. "Or as Icall it, the executor," he said.
At Northern Star,Beament has been the visionary and CEO Stuart Tonkin is the executor. "Thatrelationship has been unbelievably powerful," Beament said. Beament said themost important attributes in business were talent, passion, commitment, loyaltyand being a team player. He said getting"boots on the ground" was important and he backs his employees totake risks.
"No one isborn a natural leader but you can rise up to be one," he said.
(20min delay)