Anglo American announces Duncan Wanblad as next CEO

Anglo American announced the appointment of Duncan Wanblad as its new chief executive officer on Wednesday, with effect from its annual general meeting on 19 April next year.

The FTSE 100 mining giant said Wanblad, who would also join its board as an executive director on the same date, was succeeding Mark Cutifani

Cutifani was retiring as CEO and stepping down from the board at the AGM, after nine years in the role.

“Duncan Wanblad is the standout and natural successor to Mark Cutifani, bringing his 30 years of international mining experience and deep understanding of Anglo American, its culture and its context,” said chairman Stuart Chambers.

“In both executive and non-executive roles spanning most of Anglo American's businesses, Duncan has been integral to shaping the strong competitive position of the company today.

“Following a rigorous global process to identify Mark's successor, including those on our internal succession plan, the board felt that Duncan is uniquely qualified to take Anglo American on the next phase of improvement and to deliver what is one of the industry's leading growth stories.”

Duncan Wanblad said he was “honoured” that the board has given him the opportunity to lead the company, having started his career underground as a junior engineer.

“Our responsibility to do so safely and sustainably, including meeting our employees' and stakeholders' expectations of us, has never been greater.

“Through the way we work, the technologies we are deploying to drive us towards our sustainability goals, and the breadth of opportunities I can see, we are determined to live up to that promise.”

At 0930 GMT, shares in Anglo American were up 2.59% at 2,790.50.