JOHN Leevers has stepped down as managing director of Sons of Gwalia where he will stay on as chief executive. Mr Leevers (right) has been unlucky in the roles he has pursued at his last two companies. After moving from the UK in 2000 where he held senior management positions with Pioneer International, Mr Leevers took on the role of managing director at printing firm PMP based in Sydney. PMP encountered financial difficulties throughout 2002, at which time Mr Leevers left the business. Then, in January 2004, Mr Leevers was appointed to the position of managing director at Sons of Gwalia. Mr Leevers also assumed the role of chief executive on the retirement of Peter Lalor in April 2004. Just eight months after his appointment the miner was placed in the hands of administrators. Mr Leever’s resignation as managing director means that he relinquishes voting power but is still accountable to the board. His resignation follows that of Gwalia’s board of directors, which included Western Power chief executive Neil Hamilton. As the company is in the hands of joint administrators Garry Trevor, Andrew Love and Darren Weaver, Mr Leevers is helping to gain maximum value for the remainder of Gwalia’s assets, the focus of which is the sale of the company’s gold business. Mr Leevers remains a council member of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy and the Australian Gold Council.
