Rio Tinto shakes up management board, whittles down debt
Rio Tinto's incoming chief exec reached deeper into the miner's arsenal of tools today, as it battles a prolonged price slump.
Deputy chief exec, Jean-Sébastien Jacques, who will take the top spot on 2 July, appointed Chris Salisbury to run the FTSE 100-listed firm's core iron-ore operations.
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Salisbury is currently acting chief of Rio’s copper and coal division, and will be taking over from Andrew Harding who was also seen as a potential successor to outgoing chief exec Sam Walsh.
"A big departure, but not a great surprise given that Andrew must have been vying for Sam Walsh's role … this possibly made it untenable that he remain" Hunter Hillcoat, analyst at Investec, said.
The company also announced plans to slimline its debt pile by an additional £3bn through its June tender offer. Rio is steadily reducing its debt by selling assets to combat tumbling commodity prices, bought about by a slowdown in China.