The former Barrick Gold Corp. president and chief executive officer, Greg Wilkins has been appointed by the World Gold Council (WGC) as its chairman. Wilkins will occupy office with immediate effect, succeeding the previous Pierre Lassonde. Lassonde has been responsible to roll out gold-backed, exchange-traded funds across Europe and Asia. He was also the key driver in increasing the body’s membership base, to 23 companies with more than 60% of obtainable global gold production. Greg Wilkins now holds the mandate to position the WGC in this positively shaping gold industry.