Dominic Barton elected Rio Tinto seat

Canada to ambassador from Beijing has been elected chairman of Rio Tinto, a global miner who earns a fortune from supplying steel to Chinese companies.

Dominic Barton, best known for leading McKinsey management managers for nine years until 2018, replaces Simon Thompson after the company’s AGM in May.

In his remarks, Barton said he hopes to work with the Rio committee to implement a strategy that puts “decarbonisation at the heart of the business” and focuses on “building and promoting interdependence with the people around them”.

Rio cited his strong links in China, the Vancouver Teck Resources mine chief executive and the “determination to lead the Council” as reasons for his appointment.

The Anglo-Australian team launched a search for a new seat in March after Thompson announced that he would not run in the by-elections at his AGM in 2022. He said he was “ultimately responsible for the failures” that led to the destruction of the Aboriginal sanctuary in Australia.

“The tragic events in Juukan Gorge are a source of great sorrow and grief, as well as a clear violation of our mission as a company,” Thompson said at the time.

Rio’s board was criticized for its initial decision not to fire anyone after the incident in May 2020.

The pressure on Australian pension funds and other investors in the end would have forced it resignation of Jean-Sébastien Jacques and two other senior officials. A miner has been trying to repair his relationship with the community.

Former Centrica boss Sam Laidlaw and Simon McKeon have been at the forefront of the search for Thompson’s successor. Those who are expected to appear to include Mark Cutifani, a senior from Anglo American, people familiar with the matter have said. Cutifani told the Financial Times in November that he was not interested in the role.

During Barton’s tenure in McKinsey the annual revenue doubled. But his role was marred by the company’s actions in South Africa when it was hit by political corruption.

Barton has strong links in China. He previously lived in Shanghai as chair of Asia McKinsey and serves on the China Development Bank Capital Group. He also worked as an assistant professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Rio makes a lot of money by selling steel, which is widely used in metal production, to Chinese mills. The company registers the government of Aluminum Corporation of China as its largest shareholder.

Rio, whose main share is the Canadian Alcan aluminum business, has been without Canada on its board since David Constable left last year.

Barton, who was elected Canadian ambassador to China in September 2019, resigned earlier this month. This followed the decision of a diplomatic disorders between the two countries, Beijing has released two Canadians from prison.

The resignation will take place at the end of the month to take over responsibility in Rio, one of the most respected companies in the mining industry.

Also to maintain strong relationships with Rio’s major customers in central China escalating trade disputes between Canberra and Beijing, Barton will have to deal with a number of issues including changing party culture.

Rio faces a number of operational challenges, including a paycheck to a consultant who helped the company acquire the right to own a metal mine in Guinea, which the company must decide if it is to grow.

Rio offered last week to record a $ 2.3bn refund by the Mongolian government as a global miner seeks to complete the Oyu Tolgoi bronze project in the Gobi desert.

Thompson, a former British banker and senior executive at Anglo American, joined the Rio club in 2014 and took office four years later.

One of his final tasks was to elect Rio’s chief financial officer Jakob Stausholm as Chief Executive. Stausholm launched in January and has announced that the company will spend $ 7.5bn off carbon emissions.