Challenge
Preserving a disruptor’s legacy before the trail fades
When you’re running a fast-growing company — especially one that redefined its industry — it’s hard to find time to write down how it all happened.
Wheaton Precious Metals faced exactly that dilemma.
As their 20th anniversary approached, President and CEO Randy Smallwood understood that waiting any longer risked losing key memories, voices, and early team members. The moment to act was now.
Echo had long-standing experience helping companies in the resource sector tell powerful stories, from our earlier work with Goldcorp (a company that helped give rise to Wheaton) to recent projects like Mine Safety Appliances and Surge Energy and biographies for Don McLeod and other leading mining executives. Wheaton’s team turned to us for a history that could do triple duty:
- Capture and clarify their unique business model
- Celebrate the people and values that got them here
- Offer a compelling introduction for investors and new hires
But their archive was thin. No photo library to draw from, no heritage team keeping track of internal stories. And with no physical product (unlike most miners), how could we make this story look as powerful as it was?
Solution
A sculpted, values-driven design system
The answer came through close strategic alignment and intentional design.
First, we took inspiration from Wheaton’s brand palette and their core offering: metals. The result: a clean, dramatic layout enhanced by metallic foils, topographic patterns evoking mining textures, and confident typography. Every visual decision supported the company’s tone: bold, refined, contemporary.
The book opens with a letter from CEO Randy Smallwood, clearly stating Wheaton’s values: integrity, innovation, sustainability, and partnership. These pillars served as our North Star in building the content structure.
To tackle the lack of archival material, we partnered closely with Wheaton’s team to develop:
- Original photography from offices in Vancouver and the Cayman Islands, spotlighting the people behind the success
- Visual storytelling using textures of gold, silver, and metals imagery to fill gaps in product photos
- Partner-provided mine imagery that grounded the company’s story in real-world impact
- A sleek, browsable format, with wide margins, generous pull quotes, a timeline, and data snapshots transforming the company’s 20-year arc into an accessible, engaging read
The final layout reflects an elegant fusion of design and business narrative: layered, clean, and respectful of both the reader’s time and the company’s achievements.
Result
A strategic storytelling asset with staying power
This wasn’t just an anniversary souvenir. Owning the Future was designed to outlive the milestone.
- Internally, the book is now used to help onboard employees, offering them a sense of Wheaton’s purpose and evolution
- Externally, it’s a relationship-building tool for investors, partners, and media offering credibility through story
It’s also a powerful tribute to the early team members who shaped the company. “Our founders’ courage, and the hard work of our early employees, is what got us here,” one executive said in interviews. “We owe it to them to write it down.”
One more cool thing...
We have a mining theme going
This wasn’t Echo’s first time at the mine face.
Nearly two decades ago, we helped Goldcorp (now Newmont) tell its story, a story that intertwined with the early years of Wheaton River, the predecessor to Wheaton Precious Metals. Watching Wheaton evolve and reconnect with its roots brought this project full circle for us.
The journey of one of the world’s most influential streaming companies now has its definitive history written and beautifully bound.
Every company reaches a moment when its past deserves to be preserved and its future needs to be inspired
If you liked this story, you’ll love these. Whether you’re building investor trust, welcoming new talent, or honouring your founders, we can help you craft a legacy story that’s as strategic as it is stunning. Let us tell your next 20 years.
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