Elizabeth Gaines: Fortescue Metals’ first female CEO talks guiding the Australian iron ore miner through the coronavirus crisis
- Perth-born Elizabeth Gaines was appointed as the first female CEO of Australia’s Fortescue Metals in 2018
- The 56-year-old is one of only 12 female CEOs of Australia’s top 200 companies, but feels that allowed her to bring a different approach to dealing with the coronavirus
Every crisis has a silver lining, and for the first female CEO of Australian iron ore producer Fortescue Metals, the coronavirus outbreak has offered more evidence of how a woman’s touch is critical to leadership.
Situations like Covid-19 demand a different kind of approach to the tough and no-nonsense leadership style typically epitomised by male chief executives, in that compassion and honest communication are more effective when uncertainty abounds amid a health crisis, according to Elizabeth Gaines.
Perth-born Gaines is a rare sight in a sector dominated both by men generally and male bosses. In addition to that unique situation, Gaines, unlike her predecessors and peers, was not cultivated out of a mining Petri dish, having previously worked in financial services and as an accountant.
“If this [Covid-19] crisis proves anything, it is the effectiveness of a caring and decisive leader. You can be both of those [at the same time] … they can be complementary,” she told the South China Morning Post.
If you see which countries are doing better [dealing with Covid-19] than others, New Zealand, Germany, it demonstrates that women can both be caring and decisive and that doesn’t mean you’re not sufficient
Since the outbreak started, Fortescue has sent over 200,000 text messages with words of support to employees and stakeholders.