A telling story comes to mind when Ammar Al-Joundi thinks back on his time as chief financial officer at Barrick Gold Corp. and its iconic founder Peter Munk, who passed away on Wednesday at age 90.
The two men were standing in the expansive lobby of the TD Canada Trust Building, chatting amiably, when Al-Joundi caught sight of an elderly gentleman some 30 feet away who slipped and fell hard on the polished marble floor.
“Peter in his fedora rushed over to help him,” he said. “And I was a little embarrassed because he got over there before I did and he was probably 87. You know, I stood there looking and thought, ‘Man that guy probably hurt himself.’”
He was an immigrant who came to Canada with big dreams, surpassed them beyond any imagination, and shared his good fortune through historic philanthropy. Thank you, Peter Munk, for your enormous contributions to our country. You will be missed.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) March 29, 2018To Al-Joundi, who today is president of Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and knew Munk only briefly, the incident nonetheless illustrated Munk’s concern for others, and his continued acuity late into life.
Within the mining industry, Munk is widely remembered just as much for his entrepreneurial drive, which helped build what is today the world’s largest gold company, as his interest in making Canada an open and fair place.
Goldcorp Inc.’s chief executive David Garofalo credited Munk with creating a path for gold companies to be leaders, and noted that his company is partners with Barrick in co-operating one of the world’s largest gold-copper mines in Chile, and previously worked together in Nevada.
Barrick Gold founder Peter Munk, entrepreneur with a Midas touch, dies at the age of 90Clive Johnson, chief executive of B2Gold Corp., said he grew up admiring Munk’s business acumen, and his “willingness” to be a contrarian.
“The gold mining industry has lost a transformative leader,” Johnson said.
Neil Woodyer, chief executive of Leagold Mining Corp., said he knew Munk only in passing, meeting him when he was starting at Barrick in the 1980s. Woodyer was a young banker in New York at the time, and the bank passed on an opportunity to invest in one of Munk’s deals.
Watching Munk thereafter, he said he learned that a mining executives needs to be willing to break the mould and take risks to succeed.
On Twitter, a wide swath of institutions, companies and individuals posted photos and remembrances of Munk. One was by the University of Toronto, whose global affairs school is named after Munk in light of his contributions.
"Peter Munk led an extraordinary life, during which he secured his place in history as one of Canada's most daring and successful entrepreneurs," said U of T President Meric Gertler.Today, the #UofT flag is flown half mast in memoriam of Peter Munk.https://t.co/BjGnS4rVcN pic.twitter.com/fuwFE3n0aF
— University of Toronto (@UofT) March 29, 2018Remembering Peter Munk and his impact on cardiac and vascular care in Canada. pic.twitter.com/m7XNM5gPe2
— Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (@PMunkCardiacCtr) March 28, 2018To Al-Joundi, a key characteristic of Munk was his belief that Canada should be open to all.
“Peter was a just person,” Al-Joundi said. “He believed in meritocracy, giving people opportunity, in fairness and to me those are real Canadian values.”