The chief executive of Rio Tinto, the miner under scrutiny for questionable payments in Africa, has further reshuffled his top management team, replacing a senior executive and adding a new member to the group that runs the FTSE 100 company.
Jean-Sébastien Jacques, who took control of the Anglo-Australian company this year, has appointed Vera Kirikova as head of human resources and put Simone Niven, head of corporate affairs, on its executive committee.
The reshuffle marks the latest move by Mr Jacques to reshape the top team at Rio. In his five months in charge, the French executive has replaced the boss of iron ore, Rio’s most profitable business, installed a new copper chief and promoted the heads of safety and innovation.
It comes as Mr Jacques tries to address an unfolding payments crisis in Guinea that is threatening Rio’s reputation as one of the world’s best managed miners and worrying shareholders.
By giving Ms Niven a seat on the executive committee, Mr Jacques is trying to signal the importance of communication to Rio, people close to the company said. As well as its problems in Guinea, the company is facing a US investigation into a $3bn writedown on a mine in Mozambique.
“It’s clear as an industry we need to lift our game in how we attract and retain top talent,” said Mr Jacques in a statement.
Rio notified law enforcement agencies in the US, UK and Australia last month about a $10.5m payment it made to a consultant in 2011 who helped the company secure the rights to the Simandou ore deposit in Guinea.
The company has not said why it reported the fee but François de Combret, the consultant, was also working as informal adviser to Alpha Conde, Guinea’s president, in 2011, raising questions about whether Rio broke anti-corruption laws.
Rio subsequently fired Alan Davies, head of its coal and uranium business who was previously in charge of the Simandou project, and Debra Valentine, its head of legal affairs. It said they had failed to maintain the standards expected of them under the company’s code of conduct.
Mr Davies is planning legal action, saying he has not seen evidence to justify his sacking. Mrs Valentine has not been available for comment.
Some shareholders have expressed concern about the dismissals, questioning if Mr Jacques and Jan du Plessis, Rio chairman, had been hasty in jettisoning senior managers before the full facts of the affair are known.
Mr Jacques, who replaced Sam Walsh in July, has been charged with shaping the company’s strategy for the next decade.
In his first detailed investors presentation last month, the French executive pledged to focus on sweating the group’s assets rather than pursuing ambitious deals. He is aiming to boost cash generation by as much $5bn during the next five years.
Mrs Kirikova replaces Hugo Bague, who will leave in March after almost 10 years at the company. The decision to promote Ms Niven brings Rio in line with other miners such as Anglo American, which have corporate affairs chiefs on their executive committee.
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