In the months following more than 40 deaths in protests over South African mineworkers' pay last year, Gold Fields Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Nick Holland hatched a plan to spin off his company's mines in the country. The strategy, endorsed by billionaire hedge fund manager and Gold Fields investor John Paulson, has been a success — though not yet for Holland. The South African assets, moved into a new company called Sibanye Gold Ltd., have outperformed Gold Fields by 57 percentage points since the split in February. Meanwhile, Holland is confronted by investor criticism over his pay, missed production targets and the timing of an Australian acquisition. His company is also the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation over a deal with local black investors. "The pressure has been on Holland for a long time," said Charl Malan, a who helps manage about $8 billion at Van Eck Associates Corp. in New York.