The early appointment of current executive director/chief financial officer Jakob Stausholm as chief executive of global miner Rio Tinto will see the early departure of his predecessor, Jean-Sebastian Jacques.
Jacques was among three senior managers who resigned under pressure in September over the group’s destruction of priceless heritage sites in Western Australia’s Pilbara region to open up new iron ore mining resources.
Rio Tinto previously announced he would finish up on March 31, 2021, or earlier if a replacement was named. Jacques will now step down from the top job on Jan 2 and leave the group at the end of March.
Stausholm, who joined Rio Tinto in 2018, has 25 years experience in leadership roles including at Royal Dutch Shell, logistics giant AP Moeller – Maersk and global facility services provider ISS.