On Paul’s last day as CEO of the company he co-founded and has led since its inception, his successor Trevor Raymond reflects on WPIC successes and achievements under Paul’s 8-year leadership.

I know I speak for my colleagues in recognising the very positive environment we have enjoyed under Paul’s leadership. His down-to-earth approachability, shrewd and ambitious goal-setting, and trust in and empowerment of individuals to contribute to the full extent of their talents, has enabled our successful growth over the first eight years of the Council’s existence.

To select a few of the many milestones achieved by Paul’s team along the way:

• In November 2014, Paul introduced our first Platinum Quarterly publication; early this month, he opened the presentation of our thirty-second to our global institutional investor audience, testament to the credibility and reputation our research has achieved.
• Our first product partnerships with major creators and distributors of platinum investment products were signed with organisations in Japan, Switzerland and the UK in 2016. The first US partnership followed in 2017, the first in China in 2018. Currently, we have over 25 active partnerships worldwide, all contributing to incremental platinum investment ounces.
• Opening our Chinese subsidiary and Shanghai office in 2017, under Weibin Deng’s leadership. Its success has exceeded all of our expectations, most recently with the launch of Shanghai Platinum Week and a key role in the creation of a major platinum group metals centre in Shanghai’s Lin-Gang special area.
• The steadfast backing of our shareholders and members: Four companies have been constant since our creation in 2014. In the recent past, we have been delighted to welcome two new members who add their expertise to our board and contribute to our funding.

I will close with my personal thanks to Paul for the last eight years: I enjoyed very much working alongside him, which also involved working as hard as ever in my life. We have come through some challenges that would have been impossible without great teamwork and leadership, and enjoyed a lot of fun and success along the way. WPIC is very well placed for the opportunities ahead, and I look forward to building our future with our team.

Trevor Raymond, CEO