Mr. Hayes has over 35 years of progressive experience focused on mining. Mr. Hayes retired from Placer Dome Inc., where he served as Executive Vice President for Project Development and Corporate Affairs from 2004 to 2006, Executive Vice President for USA and Latin America from 2000 to 2004, and Executive Vice President for Latin America from 1994 to 2000. Mr. Hayes also worked as an executive, including chief financial officer, for various mining operations in Latin America. Mr. Hayes has provided over a decade of leadership to our Board. His skills at building relationships of mutual trust and candor with management ensure that our Board receives timely information and the Board s feedback is reflected in Royal Gold s day-to-day business. His experience in project and operations management for a large global mining company, enhanced by his oversight of project development and safety in his role as a board member of other global mining companies, also enables him to bring valuable perspectives to our Board regarding human capital management, stakeholder engagement, and assessment of our strategic objectives from a financial, operational, and sustainability perspective.