Stausholm to replace Lynch as finance chief at Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto has appointed Jakob Stausholm to succeed Chris Lynch as its chief financial officer, it announced on Tuesday.

The FTSE 100 company said Stausholm, who recently stepped down as group chief financial officer of A.P. Moller-Maersk, would join Rio Tinto as an executive director on 3 September and take over as chief financial officer on the same day.

Lynch would stand down from the Rio Tinto board on 3 September and, as it had previously announced, would retire from the company on 30 September, following a “smooth transition” to Stausholm.

Chief executive J-S Jacques said: “The experience he has gained in various senior financial and strategy roles globally will be invaluable, as will his deep knowledge of both the resources and logistics industries.

Jacques said Lynch was leaving Rio Tinto a “stronger company” than when he started in 2013. “Rio Tinto has the strongest balance sheet in the sector, and Chris has helped embed a disciplined focus on costs and capital allocation.

Stausholm has more than 20 years of experience working in senior finance roles in Europe, Latin America and Asia, having been group CFO and an executive director of AP Moller-Maersk, and chief financial, strategy and transformation officer for the transport and logistics division from December 2016 until March this year, having joined the Maersk Group in 2012.

From 2008 to 2011 he was group CFO of the global facility services provider ISS, and he was a non-executive director of Statoil from 2009 to 2016 and of Woodside Petroleum from 2006 to 2008.

Before that, he spent more than 19 years with Royal Dutch Shell in a number of finance positions globally, and as chief internal auditor for the group.

“I am truly excited to be joining Rio Tinto and look forward to working with J-S and the executive team to ensure Rio Tinto continues to outperform its peers and maintain the financial discipline instilled under J-S and Chris's leadership,” Jakob Stausholm said.

Rio Tinto chairman Simon Thompson highlighted his "wealth of experience, both as an executive and non-executive director”.

Chris Lynch joined the Rio Tinto board in September 2011 and was appointed chief financial officer in April 2013.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said Stausholm's appointment "appears in our view to be a solid choice", with Maersk size and global operations providing a reasonable testing ground.

"The appointment of an executive from outside the mining industry should be taken positively by investors, in our view, as the industry continues to try and improve its long-term capital allocation track record. At Maersk, despite a generally challenging time for the shipping industry, the company posted consistent free cash flow.

"This change will now usher in the J-S Jacques era in full; coinciding at a time when questions on strategic direction, following a successful period of portfolio optimisation and cash returns, are beginning to grow."