Source : THE AGE NEWS
Mining giant Rio Tinto has started a global search to replace chief executive Jakob Stausholm, who will step down from his position after spending almost five years at the top.
The $164 billion dual-listed company, which has shareholders in London and Australia, said it was conducting a search to replace Stausholm but did not provide a reason for his departure, other than saying it was a “natural moment” for the miner to appoint a successor.
Rio’s chairman Dominic Barton (left) and chief executive Jakob Stausholm at a mining summit in Perth.Credit: Trevor Collen
“Under Jakob’s leadership, Rio Tinto has restored trust with key stakeholders, aligned our portfolio with the commodities where demand growth is strongest, built a diverse and talented management team, and set a compelling growth trajectory,” Rio’s chair Dominic Barton said, thanking the Danish national for his contribution.
“This is a natural moment to appoint Jakob’s successor, as we look ahead to our next phase in which we will double down to deliver greater operational performance to realise the full potential of our assets,” Barton said.
Rio is one of the world’s biggest exporters of iron ore and suppliers of aluminum. The statement on Stausholm’s departure came just an hour before Rio’s rival Fortescue announced the retirement of the head of its energy division, Mark Hutchinson, and chief operating officer Shelley Robertson.
Stausholm stepped up as boss of Rio in January 2021 after the disastrous destruction of two 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in the Pilbara unleashed a wave of global condemnation, triggered a federal parliamentary inquiry in Australia, and plunged the company into crisis, prompting the exit of then CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques and two other senior executives.
The miner is still improving its cultural heritage processes and relationships with traditional owners.
Soon after his appointment, Stausholm was plunged into an overhaul of Rio’s workplace culture after then sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick’s investigation found a culture of bullying, sexual harassment, and discrimination.
The company has focused on metals crucial to the energy transition, ramping up its copper output and, unlike its major peers, targeting lithium as a key growth area, buying projects in Argentina and Australia.
Rio recently announced a $1.4 billion investment with Chile’s state-owned copper miner Codelco in the Salar de Maricunga project, taking its ownership to 49.9 per cent. That followed a deal last year to buy Arcadium Lithium for about $9.9 billion.
Earlier this month, the company fended off an activist investor’s bid at its annual general meeting to force a review of its dual-listing structure.
London-based hedge fund Palliser Capital tried to convince shareholders to back an investigation of the merits of unifying the miner under a single listing in Australia by collapsing its dual listed structure which it said was “archaic”. The proposal failed to gain traction.
Both Stausholm and Barton resisted the calls, arguing any unification would cost billions of dollars and not make economic sense.
Stausholm said it was a “privilege” to lead Rio and that he had built on the company’s historic strengths to deliver profitable, stable growth and significant shareholder value. “I know the company will continue to thrive long into the future,” he said. He joined the global miner in 2018 as executive director and chief financial officer.
“Jakob has reset Rio Tinto’s strategy to align the group to the opportunities of the energy transition and shaped a pathway to a decade of profitable growth,” the company said in a statement.
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