Rio Tinto on Monday appointed former Anglo American group executive director Simon Thompson to lead the company, replacing their departing chairman who will step down next March. Thompson, a veteran with more than 20 years industry experience, joined Rio as a non-executive board member in 2014. He will succeed Jan du Plessis, who will have served almost nine years in the role.
Thompson held a number of positions with Anglo American between 1995 and 2007, and previously worked in investment banking at S.G. Warburg and N M Rothschild.