BFI fireside
conversations
... in depth discussions with experts from various fields
David Tait pt. I - The Inspirational Journey of the World Gold Council's CEO
David Tait is the CEO of the World Gold Council and has a clear and exciting vision for the future of the gold industry. Beforehand, he has had a remarkably successful career in banking that ended in 2016 as the Global Head of Macro Products at Credit Suisse. However, there's a much deeper story here. (paragraph)He is also an outspoken advocate for children's rights and has been supporting since he was a teenager. To raise funds, he jumped off buildings, wrecked cars and climbed Mount Everest several times, until he decided to tell his own childhood story and share why he is so deeply committed to help protect children.
In this Fireside Conversation between Frank R. Suess and David Tait, the CEO of the World Gold Council, a market development organization for the gold industry, David shares an in-depth look at his long, inspirational journey that got him to where he is today. He’s had a remarkably successful carrier in trading, banking, and mountaineering, but not before suffering horrendous abuse as a child. It's why he's determined in making a safer future for children.
In this first part of the Conversation, Frank and David discuss David's personal story including 5 successful Mount Everest summits. He shares the harrowing story of one of those nearly disastrous trips in 2013, when he was charged with getting a flag given to him by Her Majesty the Queen to the summit in celebration of her 60 years on the throne and Hillary and Tenzing’s 60th anniversary of the first ever summit.
However, despite the adventures and successes in his adult life, much was shaped by the abuse he suffered as a child. That abuse led to his long-term commitment to the NSPCC, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. It also led him on a labor-of-love journey to share his story so that other children might not have to suffer as he did.
What started as a book ultimately brought his story to the big screen in the movie, Sulphur & White. We highly recommend watching the movie as it tells David's story and covers the difficult struggle of bringing to light the many forms of abuse suffered by children that go unheard of.
Stay tuned for the second part of this Conversation, where David and Frank put a microscope over the precious metals industry, where the problems lie, and how David plans to solve them, one problem at a time.
