Rio Tinto puts faith in West Australian farm boy Simon Trott to run its global mining empire

Chair Dominic Barton said Simon Trott was an outstanding leader with a ‘deep understanding of mining and a track record of delivering operational excellence and creating value’. He starts on August 25.

Simon Trott on site in June.

New Rio Tinto boss Simon Trott will immediately turn his attention to the challenges facing the company, including his predecessor’s big bet on lithium, its troubled Mongolian copper operations and the need to build and open new iron mines in Western Australia.

Perth-based Mr Trott was named chief executive on Tuesday, nearly two months after Rio’s shock announcement that it was parting ways with Dane Jakob Stausholm.

His appointment granted the wish of the Albanese government, which advocated for an Australian to take the top job at Rio.

However, Mr Trott will run Rio from London in keeping with tradition and its dual listing.

Mr Stausholm became the fourth CEO to leave under a cloud in 12 years. His departure was brought forward after he and chair Dominic Barton didn’t see eye-to-eye on key issues of strategy.

Simon Trott in a supplied picture taken in London before his official appointment as CEO.

It is understood Mr Trott prevailed in a close race with Frenchman Jérôme Pécresse, who is in charge of Rio’s aluminium business. Mongolian-born chief commercial officer Bold Baatar was another leading internal contender, and Rio also considered outsiders.

Mr Trott hails from a farming family in Wickepin, WA, which has a population of about 400 people. He is a father of three and his first job at Rio was a fly-in, fly-out role at the now closed Argyle diamond mine.

He has run Rio’s iron ore business since being named the long-term replacement for Chris Salisbury who lost his job in the fallout from the Juukan Gorge cultural heritage disaster.

Former colleague Ivan Vella, who quit Rio to become chief executive at IGO and then fell out with Mr Stausholm, said he expected Rio to get the shake up it needed under Mr Trott.

Mr Vella backed Mr Trott to put his own stamp on the company.

“Simon knows the business well, he is very considered and thoughtful and will make decisions accordingly. He will pull a very good team around him. He is a caring leader and family man who will chase success but do it with his values in mind,” Mr Vella said.

“I also don’t think he will feel bound by past decisions or direction from Jakob. It would seem that some of these things need a shake up ... he has a lot in front of him in the next 12 months to get things settled after this transition.”

Resources minister Madeleine King, who pushed for Rio to appoint Mr Trott, said she could live with a London-based Rio CEO although WA is where it makes most of its money.

“This position is of great importance to WA and the nation as Pilbara iron ore forms the mainstay of Rio’s global resources operations,” she said.

“I am also really very proud that a fine Western Australian, from the Wheatbelt town of Wickepin, will lead Rio, an international resources company of great significance.”

Rio is currently lobbying the government about a bailout for the Tomago aluminium smelter, and eyeing new federal environmental laws after highlighting the blowout in approval times for new mines.

Mr Trott takes the top job from August 25. The 50-year-old was previously Rio’s first chief commercial officer.

His base salary is £1.34m ($2.74m).

Mr Barton said Mr Trott was an outstanding leader with a “deep understanding of mining and a track record of delivering operational excellence and creating value across our business”.

“Simon and the board are aligned that Rio Tinto’s next phase is about unlocking significant value for shareholders from our portfolio, driven by operational performance, and cost and financial discipline,” Mr Barton said.

“Simon came into our iron ore business at a time of significant challenges and has been instrumental in rebuilding culture, strengthening external relationships and setting us on a pathway for growth.

“Under his leadership, iron ore has become a centre of innovation for the group, driving operational excellence, technology and operating model optimisation – levers Simon can now bring to Rio Tinto at scale.”

Simon Trott started in the Argyle diamond mines.

Mr Trott said he was excited about Rio’s future and paid tribute to Mr Stausholm.

“The progress we have made over recent years gives us a foundation to build on with discipline and focus to deliver improved performance,” he said.

“With our outstanding assets and people around the world, we are well positioned to grow value for shareholders and the communities who host us.

“I want to personally thank Jakob for his leadership and guidance; I have greatly enjoyed working with him. As we move forward at pace, I will be listening closely to our shareholders, customers, employees, communities and other stakeholders to shape our next chapter together.”

One of Mr Trott’s first decisions will be to decide if his successor as iron ore boss also takes over responsibility for the Simandou iron ore project in the African nation of Guinea.

Rio invested $US6.2bn as its share in building Simandou and Guinea remains under the rule of a military junta.

Mr Trott steered clear of any direct involvement with Simandou as chief executive for iron ore, and in his former role as chief commercial officer.

Matt Holcz, currently managing director of Pilbara mines, would provide interim support in the chief executive iron ore role until a permanent appointment is made.

Rio has sparred with investors over issues with the government in Mongolia, where it operates the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine.

Originally published as Rio Tinto puts faith in West Australian farm boy Simon Trott to run its global mining empire