Jan du Plessis
Photo by: Duane Daws
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified major Rio Tinto has confirmed that chairperson Jan du Plessis will retire after the completion of an "orderly succession process".
British multinational group BT Group announced earlier on Thursday that Du Plessis would join its board as a nonexecutive director on June 1, and as chairperson on November 1. He will succeed outgoing BT Group chairperson Sir Mike Rake.
Rio on Thursday said it had initiated a succession plan to appoint a new chairperson in June 2016, after the appointment of Jean Sebastian Jacques as CEO.
A successor to Du Plessis will likely be announced before the end of 2017, with Du Plessis expected to retire no later than the 2018 annual general meeting.
“When we announced the appointment of Jacques as CEO a year ago, I committed to the board to serve as chairperson for another two years, as part of a planned leadership transition. Today’s announcement is the next step in that plan. I remain committed to leading the board until I stand down, supporting the management team and ensuring an orderly handover to my successor,” said Du Plessis.