* Carroll to remain in position until successor is appointed
* BHP’s Vanselow, Xstrata’s Davis in frame as replacements
* Shares rise over 4 percent on the news
By Clara Ferreira-Marques and Sinead Cruise
LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) – Anglo American’s Chief
Executive Cynthia Carroll has quit after more than five years in
the job, under pressure from investors over the mining group’s
lagging share price and continued dependence on strike-hit South
Africa.
A geologist by training, New Jersey-born Carroll ruffled
feathers when she moved from the aluminium industry to become
the first non-South African, the first woman and the first
outsider to take the top job at Anglo in 2007.
Rejecting suggestions Carroll was pushed out, Chairman John
Parker, her long-standing supporter, said there had been
“differences of opinion” with shareholders but the decision to
step down was Carroll’s own, as she approached her seventh year
in a “very gruelling and demanding role”.
“Institutional pressure has been building for some time to
replace Cynthia, so the news will be welcomed,” one of Anglo’s
15 largest shareholders said.
“Ultimately, running Anglo is one of the toughest jobs
around and, although Cynthia made a good start as CEO, the
feeling is the company has gone backwards in the last two to
three years.”
Continued…
