Daily Times

LONDON: Three of the world’s biggest miners are hunting for new leaders for their boards at a time when the industry faces questions from investors about its conventional diversified business operations and strategies for growth.

BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Anglo American, whose chairmen have all announced their intention to step down, are also generating healthy cash flows, putting them under pressure to give more money back to shareholders. The task to find the right candidates is particularly urgent for BHP Billiton and Anglo American due to the growing influence of major investors at both companies who have raised doubts over their future direction.

US activist investor Elliott – which holds a stake of about 4 percent in BHP’s London-listed shares – has taken advantage of the planned departure of incumbent Jac Nasser to launch a campaign to shake up the world’s biggest miner.

Elliott’s proposals include getting rid of BHP’s dual company structure, spinning off its oil and gas assets and returning more cash to investors. BHP has so far dismissed them and many other investors have also been sceptical, but say the attack highlights the need for a strong new chair to back up the CEO and unite a disparate shareholder base. Anglo American’s new board leader will also have to deal with a new share register. Shortly after incumbent chairman John Parker announced in February that he would step down, Indian miner Vedanta’s chairman Anil Agarwal used an exchangeable bond to acquire a sizeable chunk of Anglo American shares and buy influence.

The favourite to lead Rio Tinto’s board is Sam Laidlaw, former CEO of Britain’s largest energy supplier Centrica, whom Rio made a non-executive director in February this year, four industry sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

BHP has said it is aiming for 50 percent women in its work force within a decade, but the sources said finding a woman chair with the availability and experience could for now be tough.

All four sources said Gail Kelly, former chief executive of Australian bank Westpac, who was an early favourite to replace Nasser, was no longer being considered but declined to give a reason.

Other names that two of the sources said have been considered were outgoing Dow Chemical’s boss Andrew Liveris and an existing BHP director, Malcolm Broomhead.

One candidate mooted to be Anglo’s new chairman, two of the industry sources say, is Guy Elliott, a former chief financial officer of Rio Tinto. None of those mentioned as a potential candidate was immediately available for comment.

Anglo’s chairman Parker’s plan to step down follows a turbulent eight-year tenure, which included the miner’s 2007 costly investment in Brazil’s Minas-Rio iron ore operation, which analysts say will struggle to justify the capital outlay.