Ken Barr remembered

I first met Ken Barr in 1983, when I was relatively new to the investment business, at least from the position of advising individual investors on their portfolios. Given my background in geology and as an institutional mining analyst, it was logical to concentrate on emerging resource stocks. As for Barr, he had spent his career in the telecommunications business and was the epitome of positive thinking and enthusiasm.

When Barr learned of a silver property I had been exploring in northern Ontario, he suggested the two of us fly up for an examination. To my delight, I discovered he was an accomplished pilot and member of a flying club. We left for the property on a fine summer’s day, in a tiny prop plane that barely accommodated us. He joked that this particular craft required only enough fuel to fill a cigarette lighter. Barr received a crash course in geology, and I was indoctrinated into the fine art of navigating crafts smaller than the Beavers and Norsemen that most bush pilots flew for geological surveys.

We examined the property, and on the return flight we encountered extreme turbulence from a weather system over Georgian Bay. The wind was so strong that our craft was virtually stationary in mid air for almost 45 minutes! The main concern was not destruction of the airplane, but how long the “cigarette lighter” of fuel would last. Barr was as cool as one might expect a seasoned pilot to be and skillfully manoeuvred around the inclement weather to return us safely to our point of departure (London, Ont.).

As the years passed, our relationship grew, and eventually we founded Augen Capital, an investment company the provided seed capital for emerging resource exploration companies. Meanwhile, his professional credentials and special interests continued to be augmented with numerous accomplishments. As a sales manager, he once brought in Sir Edmund Hillary to provide an inspirational speech to his group. As a pilot, he was honoured to fly with the elite Navy Blue Angels in a U.S. air show.

We had many interesting board meetings over the eight years Barr was a director of Augen, and throughout that time he remained a positive thinker, tireless in his efforts to assist the company in any way. Sadly, earlier this year, Barr was diagnosed with cancer.

On May 26, Augen held a directors’ meeting by conference call, and Barr insisted on participating and making motions, despite being too weak to walk. One week later he died. His dedication was above and beyond what any corporation would expect. Emerging companies need only directors like Barr to fulfill what is today known as “corporate governance.”

— The author is the CEO of Toronto-based Augen Capital.