Mark Cutifani, CEO, AngloGold Ashanti
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AngloGold's Cutifani strikes good opening note
David McKay
Posted: Wed, 15 Aug 2007

[miningmx.com] -- IF THERE were a criticism of Bobby Godsell’s style it was that the AngloGold Ashanti CEO could be distant and prickly, especially to criticism.

But 11 years of buffeting in a globally competitive industry could do that to anyone. So it remains to be seen how the “guy-next-door” touch of Godsell’s successor, Mark Cutifani, shapes up in the long run.

Cutifani, a 49-year-old Australian, certainly has the common touch. “I was born into a working class family. So I educated myself while working,” he said at an introductory breakfast to journalists earlier this month.
Let’s hope it stays that way
That he cut into his private time to squeeze in 60 minutes with local hacks is exactly what local hacks would want to see. As a public relations session Cutifani’s introduction was a raging success.

Cutifani seems to have some soft skills under his belt. Godsell has a long-term interest in philosophy but Cutifani has some philosophic idylls of his own. Speaking at the breakfast he identified the importance of understanding the cultural difference between Anglo Saxons who speak from the perspective of “I” against Latin norms of the “We”.

It was a winning, heartfelt exposition that could make Cutifani popular with what companies like to call “stakeholders”. As the son of Italian and Irish immigrants he might be well qualified to comment on cultural differences. He’ll certainly find South Africa’s cultural mix, often a factor in underground mining, a challenge.

But there are some stern tests to come. One is the fact AngloGold Ashanti has its technical challenges. The Obuasi mine in Ghana, a key reason why AngloGold bought Ashanti Goldfields in 2004, continues to trouble the group.

The underground mines in South Africa are also lumpy in performance, not to mention their safety record, which was recently the subject of government scrutiny following a visit by the Mines Minister to AngloGold’s Moab Khotsong mine.

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Cutifani is technically experienced. Cutifani’s CV has mobility as its theme, unlike Godsell who, after wooing Anglo American’s Gavin Relly with prescient comments concerning trade unions, stayed in the Anglo fold throughout. Cutifani has worked for Rio Tinto, Normandy Mining, Sons of Gwalia and Inco – renamed CVRD Inco – where he’s COO.

“As long as he sticks to the nuts and bolts – that’s the main thing,” said an analyst following Cutifani’s introduction to South Africa’s investment analysts on 3 August. “He seems very solid and very open. Let’s hope it stays that way.”

Cutifani starts in October and was in South Africa finding schools (he has four children) and a place to live. Despite its global asset spread, AngloGold Ashanti has settled into new offices in Johannesburg’s Turbine Square, near 11 Diagonal Street, its old abode.

“The Jo’burg base is a great strength,” Cutifani says of AngloGold’s strong exposure to Africa. “Over the next five to 30 years Africa will experience a lot of growth.”