Laurie Gaborit has joined Monarch Gold, the Canadian junior mining company, as a director. Prior to joining Monarch, Gaborit spent 13 years working at Detour Gold as vice president of IR, joining just before the company’s 2007 IPO.
Earlier in her career, Gaborit worked as vice president of IR and corporate secretary at High River Gold Mines, and IR manager at Rio Narcea Gold Mines. In addition to her board duties, she will continue to work as a consultant providing IR and corporate communications advice to junior mining companies.
‘I worked in investor relations a long time and it was time to think about making a change to my career,’ says Gaborit. ‘Many colleagues were suggesting I seek board positions [because of] my technical background. The opportunity came along to join Monarch Gold, and I thought with my experience I could bring a different angle to the board.’
Few people make the change from IR to board director, but Gaborit says the move makes perfect sense. ‘When you lead investor relations for a company, you are the person who basically knows it all: you deal with the board, management, investors and the sell side. I certainly hope we see more and more senior IROs becoming directors in the near future,’ she says.
‘For me, having been an IRO for a long time as well as being a technical person – I was a geologist earlier on in my career – brings a unique combination of experience to the board of a mining company. I also take this opportunity as another learning curve in my life and I look forward to this change.’
A member of the CIRI board, Gaborit was this year given the organization’s Belle Mulligan award for leadership in investor relations. At the start of her career, she worked as a geologist for Canadian firms Aur Resources, Cambior and Romarco Minerals.
