Jim Gowans    President & CEO    De Beers Canada Inc.

Jim joined the DeBeers family of Companies in March 2006. While Jim is the most recent addition to DeBeers Canada’s senior leadership team, he is no stranger to mining and mining operations.

Prior to joining the company, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with PT Inco Indonesia, overseeing the Operations of this company on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the implementation of an aggressive growth strategy. He brings over thirty years of practical management experience, touching on most aspects of the mining industry, including exploration, major projects, operations and human resources.

Jim earned his Bachelor of Applied Science in Mineral Engineering (Mining and Mineral Processing) from the University of British Columbia in 1974. From there, he joined Cominco (now Teck Cominco) and advanced through various technical and managerial positions, including being the youngest Superintendent in the company’s history – as Mill Superintendent at Con Operations in Yellowknife, through to Operations Manager, Potash Operations in Vanscoy, Saskatchewan. He was also the Project Engineer for the Polaris Mine Project in Canada’s High Arctic and Manager, Engineering for the Red Dog Project in Alaska.

Looking for new challenges, he then moved on to Placer Dome in 1993 where he was involved in global strategic planning. He was made Vice President, Design and Research, responsible for projects design and the Research Centre where he spearheaded the drive to certify their research lab to the ISO 9002 standard. After a stint as Vice President, Human Resources, overseeing talent management globally, Jim was promoted to Executive Vice President, Canada, taking on their complete portfolio of Canadian Operations until late 2001.

Jim looks forward to leading DeBeers Canada through the transition to full production and the exploration of new kimberlite deposits in Canada.