[miningmx.com] – CYNTHIA Carroll, CEO of Anglo American since
2007,
is to step down from the R364bn organisation. She will remain in the position
until a
successor is appointed, said Anglo’s chairman, Sir John Parker.
Carroll’s resignation was with the Board’s agreement. Carroll will also step down
from
the chairmanship of De Beers and Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), currently
in
the throes of an asset review.
Said Carroll: “It is a very difficult decision to leave, but next year I will be
entering
my seventh year as chief executive and I feel that the time will be right to hand
over
to a successor who can build further on the strong foundations we have
created.’
Improvements in safety and relations with the South African government were
acknowledged as parts of Carroll’s “legacy’, Parker said.
Her resignation comes amid reports that institutional shareholders were
dissatisfied
with the performance of Carroll, in particular the cost overruns of the Minas Rio
iron
ore mine in Brazil. Most recently, Sky News reported that shareholders had
successfully lobbied Parker. “He appears to have got the message,’ Sky quoted
one
institutional investor. “There have been signals from the company that there will
be
change at the top – and soon.’
Commenting on the speculation Carroll was pushed, Parker said today: “We
always
listen carefully to shareholders; it’s the responsible thing to do.’ He added,
however,
that the resignation was Carroll’s decision.
Asked about whether her resignation reflected on loss of confidence regarding
the
Minas Rio project – which has suffered time slippages and is forecast by
Goldman
Sachs recently to come in at $8bn compared to Anglo’s latest $5.8bn estimate –
Carroll said that it was a project of which she was proud. “It really is a thing to
behold,’ she said.
Another of the major pressures Carroll has borne lately is the deteriorating
labour
relations climate in Amplats. Said Carroll of the asset review: “I am really
pleased
with where we are in the platinum review. But it’s a very complex process.
“We are having a Board meeting next week at Amplats and we are aiming to
deliver a
few messages [about the asset review] by the end of the year, as I promised to
do.’
Analysts believe Amplats could cut as much as 300,000 ounces of platinum
production
a year in terms of review decisions to scale back uncompetitive output.
“We’re looking for a fundamental shift in performance,’ said Carroll of Amplats.
“It is
not competitive today and won’t thrive unless we make fundamental
changes.’
SUCCESSOR SEARCH
Parker said an international search to recruit a successor would begin
immediately
with potential candidates possibly drawn from within and outside Anglo
American. “We
will commence an international search but we won’t be rushed as we seek the
right
person to lead the company,’ Parker said.
Asked if Mick Davis, CEO of Xstrata, might be a candidate, Parker delivered in a
perfectly timed, deadpan tone: “I don’t think it would be unreasonable to say
that we
couldn’t afford him.’ This was in reference to a much criticised executive
retention
bonus that was offered to Davis by Glencore in terms of a proposed merger of
the two
companies. The retention salary was withdrawn following a shareholder outcry.
Carroll said she expected to remain in her current position well into 2013: “My
focus
is on Anglo. I will be around for quite some time into next year,’ she said. The
appointment of Carroll in 2007 broke the mould for Anglo American, which had
previously only sought CEOs from its own ranks.
