Former Maersk executive Jakob Stausholm will be Rio Tinto’s next chief financial officer, with Chris Lynch set to step down from the role and retire from the mining giant in September 2018.
Stausholm will take over as CFO on September 3.
“I am delighted Jakob is joining Rio Tinto and I look forward to working closely with him as we continue to deliver superior returns to our shareholders,” chief executive officer 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.”
Stausholm was most recently group CFO and an executive director of A.P. Moeller-Maersk, joining the shipping giant in 2012. From 2008 to 2011 he was group CFO of facility services provider ISS. He was at Woodside Petroleum from 2006 to 2008, and prior to that spent 19 years at Royal Dutch Shell.
“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’ leadership.”
Chris Lynch will retire from Rio Tinto on September 30. He joined Rio’s board in September 2011, and was appointed CFO in April 2013.
“I would like to acknowledge Chris’ outstanding contribution to Rio Tinto,” Jacques said.
“He leaves 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.”