Investors surprised as Rio Tinto reveals boss will step down after just four years
'Four years isn't very long at the wheel of a FTSE 100 company, so it's a surprise to see Rio Tinto announce the forthcoming departure of chief executive Jakob Stausholm', Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said.
No reason was provided by the company for Strausholm's upcoming exit.
Rio Tinto named Stausholm as its chief executive in 2021 while grappling with legal, public and investor turmoil over the destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters.
On Thursday, the business said Stausholm would step down later this year once a successor was appointed. A selection process for the role is underway.
Contenders for the top job are expected to include current chief commercial officer Bold Baatar, head of iron ore Simon Trott, and aluminium boss Jerome Pecresse.
Some investors said they expected Rio Tinto to mount a robust external search given limited bench strength internally.
However, the company's top brass may have to compete for external candidates with BHP, whose chief executive Mike Henry is widely expected to step down this year.
Stausholm took over as chief executive of Rio Tinto from Jean-Sebastien Jacques, who was ousted as a result of the firm's handling of the Juukan Gorge saga.
Under Stausholm, Rio Tinto make a significant push into lithium production, including the multi-billion-pound acquisition of Arcadium Lithium last year.
This week, Rio Tinto doubled down on its lithium bet this week, announcing that it will partner with Chile's Codelco for its Maricunga lithium project with a £670million investment.
During his tenure, Stausholm was also credited with repairing key stakeholder relationships, advancing major projects including Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia, and restoring ties with China's Chinalco.
Before getting the top job at Rio Tinto, Stausholm previously served as the firm's finance chief and a member of the board of advisors at IBM, and held senior positions at shipping company A.P. Moller - Maersk.
Rio Tinto Chair Dominic Barton said: 'Under Jakob's leadership, Rio Tinto has restored trust with key stakeholders, aligned our portfolio with the commodities where demand growth is strongest, built a diverse and talented management team, and set a compelling growth trajectory.
'Our focus on these things is undiminished and our strategic priorities are unchanged.'
Stausholm said: 'It has been an absolute privilege to lead Rio Tinto, one of the great mining and materials companies in the world.
'I would like to thank the deeply dedicated and talented people across the organisation that together have raised both operational performance and project execution.
'We have built on Rio Tinto's historic strengths to deliver profitable, stable growth and significant shareholder value. I know the company will continue to thrive long into the future.'
Mould of AJ Bell, said: 'During Stausholm's tenure, arch-rival BHP tried to buy Anglo American and that raised questions as to why Rio Tinto wasn't also doing big deals.
'Earlier this year, there was speculation that Rio held merger talks with Glencore but nothing came of it. Rio's board might have felt that Stausholm was too conservative with his strategy and now is the time to be bold and grab market share.
'All we've had is a $6.7billion takeover of a lithium company which is small fry in the bigger scheme of things.
'It feels inevitable that Rio will recruit a dealmaker as its next CEO, rather than a company fixer.
'Rio is running smoothly but its position as a listed business means success will also be judged on its share price performance.
'That needs to be fired up, and M&A is the way for Rio to show it is the king of the miners given the industry follows the mantra of "biggest is best".'
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