[miningmx.com] — COMMODITIES trader Glencore is set to lose one of its most senior executives, the first exit since its high-profile public offering last year, as part of a reorganisation of its upper echelons, a source close to the company said.
Steven Blumgart, Glencore’s co-head of its alumina and aluminium division and a member of its 13-strong management committee, will be leaving the company within the year.
The source said the management reorganisation would involve eliminating the role of “co-heads” of division, with reporting lines being streamlined and executives charged with specific units, as the trader’s presence grows in areas like iron ore.
Gary Fegel, who until now has been co-head of aluminium, will take sole responsibility for the commodity, with Matthew Lucke and Andrew Caplan becoming deputies with responsibilities for aluminium and alumina, respectively, the source said.
Aluminium prices have been battered in recent weeks, with prices falling last month to their lowest since July 2010 on worries over the impact of a prolonged recession on industrial metal demand, forcing cuts to capacity across the world.
In other changes to the management team, Christian Wolfensberger, previously co-head of ferroalloys, nickel and cobalt, will head up an iron ore division, a key area of growth for the commodities trader. Stuart Cutler, the other co-head of ferralloys, nickel and cobalt, will take responsibility for ferrochrome, while Kenny Ives will lead nickel, the source said.
Blumgart’s shareholding in Glencore has not been disclosed.
Glencore declined to comment.
