Rio Tinto names Dominic Barton as chairman designate

Mining giant Rio Tinto has tapped Dominic Barton to succeed Simon Thompson as the company's new chairman, effective from 5 May 2022.

Prior to being appointed to the role, Barton spent over 30 years at McKinsey & Company, including six as its Asia chairman, and was also named as Canada's ambassador to China in 2019.

The FTSE 100-listed group added that Barton's previous corporate governance work included being chairman of Teck Resources, a non-executive director at Singtel Group and a non-executive director at Investor AB.

"His business acumen and public sector insights position him to provide critical guidance and oversight to Rio Tinto's leadership team during a pivotal time for the company," said Rio Tinto.

The search for Rio's new chair was jointly led by senior independent directors Sam Laidlaw and Simon McKeon.