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Pierre Lassonde, P.Eng

Entrepreneurship Category

Pierre Lassonde's vision, drive and initiative have meant a resurgence of opportunity in Canada's precious metals mining industry. From his start as a cost engineer with the Bechtel Corporation, Engineer Lassonde rose to become president of the Gold Division of Beutel, Goodman & Co., where he managed two of North America’s top performing gold funds. Now, he is president and co-founder of Franco-Nevada and Euro-Nevada Mining Corporations Limited, two precious metals royalty companies with extensive interest in the world’s major gold camps. With his 25 years of mining experience, Pierre Lassonde has acquired a reputation as one of Canada's leading gold analysts. In 1990, he wrote The Gold Book, published by the Globe and Mail, which has became a bible in the mining industry for precious metals investing. Shortly after its publication, Lassonde became an advisor to several Canadian companies, from mining to health sciences, playing a key role in their emergence on our national stock exchanges. He currently serves on several boards, including the Toronto Hospital Foundation, for which he assisted the Cardiac Centre in raising over $25 million, the Gold and Silver Institute, the World Gold Council and the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Engineer Lassonde is also a Canadian engineering philanthropist, whose donation enabled the University of Toronto to establish a new program in geological and mining engineering. The "Lassonde Program in Geological and Mining Engineering" is designed to promote awareness and education in the field of mine engineering, to prepare the next generation of Canadian mining engineers to take advantage of opportunities around the world. Pierre Lassond's recent awards include the "1998 Developer of the Year" by the Prospectors and Developers Association and a University of Utah "Distinguished Alumni Award"