5th Dec 2006 12:03
Rio Tinto PLC05 December 2006 Rio Tinto appoints new chief executive The boards of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited announced today that TomAlbanese will succeed Leigh Clifford as chief executive of Rio Tinto with effectfrom 1 May 2007, following the annual general meetings to be held in April. Tom, who is 49 and a US citizen, graduated in mineral economics and miningengineering from the University of Alaska. He joined Rio Tinto in 1993 and hashad a succession of senior positions including chief executive roles in theGroup's Industrial Minerals and Copper businesses and also as head ofExploration. He was appointed to the boards in March 2006 and currently holdsthe position of director, Group Resources. Rio Tinto chairman Paul Skinner said: "The board is very pleased to appoint TomAlbanese to lead the next phase of Rio Tinto's development. He brings wideexperience of the mining industry developed in a sequence of challengingtechnical, operational and strategic roles. Tom has been a key player in anumber of major Rio Tinto developments over recent years and also in shaping theGroup's strategic direction." Paul paid tribute to Leigh's long service to Rio Tinto: "Leigh has made anoutstanding contribution to Rio Tinto over a 37 year career with the Group.During his seven years as chief executive the Group has seen strong growth inprofitability and important advances in operational performance. He has beeninstrumental in developing the Group's position in key markets, notably in Asia,and in major acquisitions which have added significant shareholder value." Notes to editors Tom Albanese was born in 1957 and grew up in New Jersey. He attended theUniversity of Alaska in Fairbanks where he received a bachelor's degree inmineral economics and a master's degree in mining engineering. He held a number of positions with Nerco Minerals, and was chief operatingofficer at the time of its acquisition by Rio Tinto in 1993. Later that year he was appointed general manager of Rio Tinto's Greens Creekgold, silver, zinc and lead mine on Admiralty Island, Alaska, where he led ateam that was working to develop a newly discovered high grade orebody at themine. He moved to London in 1995 where he took up the post of Group explorationexecutive. Three years later he became vice president of Kennecott Utah Copperat the Bingham Canyon copper mine outside Salt Lake City. When Rio Tinto acquired a majority holding in North Ltd in Australia in 2000 Tomtransferred to Melbourne as its managing director. In this role he oversawstrategic reviews of North's operations and the integration of its keybusinesses into Rio Tinto's product group structure. He was appointed chief executive of Rio Tinto's Industrial Minerals group basedin London, with responsibility for the Group's borates, talc and titaniumdioxide operations, before becoming chief executive, Copper and Exploration, in2004. He joined the board of directors in March, 2006 and became director, GroupResources in July, with responsibility for Exploration, Operational andTechnical Excellence, Human Resources, Communications and External Relations andGlobal Business Services. Recently Tom has been involved in developing the joint venture explorationagreement with Norilsk Nickel in Russia, and in Rio Tinto's investments in LaGranja in Peru and Ivanhoe Mining's Oyu Tolgoi copper project in Mongolia. Tom lives in London and is married with two children. For further information, please contact: LONDON AUSTRALIA Media Relations Media Relations Nick Cobban Ian HeadOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2305 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3620Mobile: +44 (0) 7920 041 003 Mobile: +61 (0) 408 360 101 Investor Relations Investor Relations Nigel Jones Dave SkinnerOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2401 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3628Mobile: +44 (0) 7917 227 365 Mobile: +61 (0) 408 335 309 David Ovington Susie CreswellOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2326 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3639Mobile: +44 (0) 7920 010 978 Mobile: +61 (0) 418 933 792 Website: www.riotinto.comHigh resolution photographs available at: www.newscast.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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