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Cynthia Carroll, CEO of Anglo American, may be axed by new chairman, the Sunday Times says.

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» JSE:ANGLO AMERICAN PLC: 23400c

Anglo widens chairperson search

Miningmx reporter | Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:12
[miningmx.com] -- ANGLO American has approached BHP Billiton director, Paul Anderson, and Jim Leng, a former chairman of rival UK listed mining group, Rio Tinto, said the Sunday Times without naming its sources.

Anglo shareholders are thought to want management at the group bulked up amid a merger of equals proposal by Xstrata. Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, the current chairman, is set to retire but has decided to stay in place until market volatility eased.

“Sir John Parker, chairman of National Grid, has also been sounded out,” the Sunday Times said. “So too have Niall FitzGerald, deputy chairman of Thomson Reuters, and Paul Anderson, a board director at BHP Billiton, who was one of two people shortlisted for the BP chairmanship,” the paper said.

One of the first decisions of the new chairman will be one of the most important: to continue or dispense with the services of Cynthia Carroll, CEO of Anglo American. Carroll was appointed in 2007 to help reshape the group which is perceived to have lost ground to the likes of Xstrata, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

Carroll has been criticised for overpaying for certain assets and then passing the dividend earlier this year, the first time the South African group has not paid out shareholders in about 70 years.

“Carroll is under pressure to come up with a strong set of proposals to fend off Anglo’s rival – and to win over restive board members and shareholders,” the Sunday Times said.

“The sale of a stake in the Brazilian iron-ore assets could prove a popular move. Anglo bought them at the height of the commodities boom last year, only to see ore prices tumble as demand for steel slumped. China’s state-backed companies Chinalco and Min-metals are potential buyers.”

“Anglo is exploring other disposals as part of its defence against Xstrata, which made an unsolicited, all-share merger proposal 10 days ago.”