OLD GUILDFORDIANS
These bold decisions paid off and Raleigh
successfully piloted a more efficient Saracen
into a dominant market position – now the
fifth largest gold producer on the ASX.
When he returned to Western Australia,
Raleigh joined the gold mining company
Saracen Mineral Holdings in 2008 as a
General Manager of Operations. Quickly
he developed his expertise, leadership
and influence within the organisation,
becoming the Chief Operating Officer in
2009 which tasked him with managing
all operational aspects of the business. In
2013 he became Managing Director of
Saracen at the young age of 34 and during
a particularly challenging time for the mining
industry. He immediately initiated a strategic
review to help navigate the organisation
through a transitioning phase, leading to
operations being scaled-back including
the suspension of a $25 million expansion
project. These bold decisions paid off and
Raleigh successfully piloted a more efficient
Saracen into a dominant market position –
now the fifth largest gold producer on the
ASX. The company’s market capitalisation
has skyrocketed from $9 million to a
staggering $1.6 billion over the last eight
years and the organisation recently published
a half-year profit of $47 million, more than
tripling last year’s result. Now in a position
to expand, Raleigh has been responsible for
the acquisition and subsequent development
of Saracen’s second operating mine, the
Thunderbox Gold Project.
It is not just his impressive business acumen
that has steered Raleigh towards being
featured at the 40under40 Awards, his
personal desire to give would have also
pushed him into contention and Raleigh
strongly supports a philanthropic staff
culture within Saracen. He personally
feels tremendous gratitude for the strong
foundation his schooling gave him and in
particular the direct impact the Western
Australian School of Mines had on his career.
For this reason Raleigh volunteers with the
Western Australian School of Mines Alumni,
the association for former students, and he
is currently serving as president. Another
passion point for Raleigh is the Heart of
Gold Australia app and Saracen is the major
sponsor of the second of the virtual discovery
trails, this one being in historic Kalgoorlie and
the first trail being in the city of Perth. The
purpose of the app is to educate the next
generation about the Gold industry with a
fun and interactive school program aligned
to the Australian Curriculum.
We congratulate Raleigh on his wonderful
achievements. Having already set an
impressive benchmark within his industry
at such a young age, the future for Raleigh
Finlayson definitely looks golden.
Help add to our list of
accomplished Old Guildfordians
Our list of accomplished Old Guildfordians continues to grow, but we
need your help to identify any omissions. We would like to celebrate your
achievements or the achievements of others, whether they are occupational,
sporting, cultural or personal achievements, and we therefore encourage
our community to submit nominations. To see those nominated so far go to
www.oldguildfordians.com.au/accomplished and, if you think someone is
missing, send your nomination to David Williams at [email protected]
or 11 Terrace Road, Guildford WA 6935, or call (+61 8) 9377 8522.
Reunions & Events 2018
www.oldguildfordians.com.au
Help us to organise your reunion –
contact [email protected] or (+61 8) 9377 8522.
Wednesday 1 August 2018 OG mentors sought