Rio Tinto: Sam Walsh to Retire, Jean-Sébastien Jacques to Step Up as CEO

Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) CEO Sam Walsh will retire on July 1, to be succeeded by the company’s copper and coal CEO, Jean-Sébastien Jacques. Jacques will immediately become deputy CEO in order to ease the transition.
As quoted in the press release:

During more than three years on Rio Tinto’s executive committee, Jean-Sébastien has brought greater focus to the copper and the coal businesses. He has delivered a step-change in both safety and cash performance while significantly reducing costs. Prior to joining Rio Tinto, Jean-Sébastien worked for more than 15 years across Europe, Southeast Asia, India and the United States in a wide range of operational and functional positions in the aluminium, bauxite and steel industries. He served as group strategy director for Tata Steel Group from 2007 to 2011.
Rio Tinto chairman Jan du Plessis said “Jean-Sébastien is a very experienced executive with a demonstrated track record and brings a unique blend of strategic and operational expertise. He has run complex operations and projects across five commodities and five continents. J-S is a highly-regarded leader who shares Rio Tinto’s strong values and has embraced its culture.
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of a comprehensive and deliberate executive succession process. The board has decided that J-S is the right person to lead Rio Tinto in an increasingly complex world filled with both challenges and opportunities for our industry.”

Click here for the full press release.