Gold Fields Ltd has announced the appointment of Mr Peet van Schalkwyk, as Executive Vice President and Head of West Africa Region with effect from September 19th 2011.Peet Van Schalkwyk returns to familiar territory in taking up the reins as new Executive Vice President of Gold Fields and Head of West Africa Region, having previously filled positions as General Manager of both the Damang and Tarkwa Mines and acted as Country Vice President for a period of three months.Prior to his return, Peet worked for eighteen months in Turkey, setting up two new gold projects in the country, where he was employed as General Manager of Alamos Gold Incorporated. He also served as board member of all their subsidiary companies. Prior to joining Gold Fields in 2007, he was the Metallurgical Manager of the Africa Region for AngloGold Ashanti, working in Mali and Tanzania since 2000.In an interview with Peet, he reflected as follows on Ghana: “I count my years in Ghana as some of my most rewarding and it is great to be back. I am looking forward to building on the operation’s success and taking it to even greater heights in the years to come.”In a release issued from the corporate Head office, the Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields, Mr Nick Holland commented ‘’Peet’s wealth of experience and knowledge of the operations and mineral deposits in the region will contribute to the success and growth of our footprint in West Africa. We welcome Peet back to Gold Fields and wish him well in this new leadership role for the West Africa Region.’’Peet has a strong track record of engaging stakeholders and understands the importance of developing collaborative relationships with government, communities and employees. “In order to operate in Ghana one needs to mine sustainably and in full and transparent partnership with key stakeholders, particularly government and communities,” he says.Talking about employee engagement, Peet points out the importance of providing staff with a voice. “I believe you need to listen to people. Many good ideas come from the workplace,” adding that he is looking forward to again working with the people of Ghana. “They are a great asset – friendly, ambitious and hard-working.”Peet has over 25 years’ experience in mining and related industries and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Geology, and a diploma in Industrial Relations from the Wits Business School.