Mark Cutifani has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of Anglo American, the company announced today.
Cutifani will take office at the helm of the global miner as of April 2013. An Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place that month, at which out-going CEO Cynthia Carroll will officially step down and hand over to the new head of the company.
The announcement today comes after weeks of speculation that a new appointment was imminent, and sees recent suggestions that Cutifani would be the new CEO confirmed.
Announcing the new appointment, Anglo American Chairman Sir John Parker paid tribute to Cutifani’s expansive skill set and experience, responding to concerns that his locational experience may be too South Africa restricted to direct a global operation.
“Mark Cutifani is an experienced listed company chief executive with a focus on creating value. He is a seasoned miner, with broad experience of mining operations and projects across a wide range of commodities and geographies, including South Africa and the Americas. Mark is a highly respected leader in the global mining industry, with values strongly aligned to those of Anglo American. We look forward to welcoming him as our Chief Executive,” Parker said.
Cutifani also commented on his new appointment, which will see him earn a basic salary of £1,200,000 ($1.9 million) per year as well as a range of bonuses – both cash and share based.
“Anglo American has some of the highest quality mining operations and projects amongst its diversified peer group, bound together within a company with a deep sense of responsibility. I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead Anglo American at this important stage in its journey, to unlock the company’s very considerable value potential,” said the new CEO.
As of April, Cutifani will have a number of issues to contend with – following signifincant losses reaped by the company as illegal mining strikes crippled South Africa’s industry in the second half of 2012, operations only just coming back into full production.
Cutifani will also be faced with bringing other international projects which are lagging behind to mount costs back on to schedule, in particular the company’s Brazilian Minas-Rio iron ore project will be a key issue at the start of his tenure.
