Andrew Forrest loses another senior executive, with Fortescue CFO Ian Wells to leave
Andrew Forrest has lost another key lieutenant with chief financial officer Ian Wells to depart.
Andrew Forrest has lost another key lieutenant, with the exit of Fortescue Metals finance chief taking the number of executives leaving the billionaire’s mining and hydrogen group to close to 20.
Chief financial officer Ian Wells on Monday said he would leave at the end of the month, shortly before the company is due to deliver its half-year financial update.
His departure will do little to calm the nerves of Fortescue investors concerned about the rapid rate of executive turnover at the company, extending the run of senior departures over the past two years that has completely reshaped its most executive ranks.
Mr Wells’ exit comes less than two months after the abrupt exit of former deputy Reserve Bank governor Guy Debelle, who was chief financial officer of Fortescue Future Industries, the iron ore major’s green projects arm, and three months after the chief executive of Dr Forrest’s private investments vehicle, former National Australia Bank executive Andrew Haggar, also resigned.
With human resources boss Linda O’Farrell also believed to have handed in her notice last year, only two of the 11 senior executives listed in Fortescue’s 2021 annual report are still with the company: general counsel Peter Huston and former Fortescue Future Industries chief executive Julie Shuttleworth, now in a different role with the company’s hydrogen arm.
Fortescue finally announced a new chief executive for its iron ore division in late November, appointing Woodside executive Fiona Hick to the role almost a year after former Fortescue boss Elizabeth Gaines said she intended to leave the company.
Mr Wells will leave Fortescue on January 31, ahead of the February 15 delivery of the company’s half-year financial results.
His resignation leaves Fortescue without a permanent finance chief across its iron ore and energy operations, with FFI’s head of commercial Felicity Gooding instead filling in as interim CFO at FFI when Dr Debelle stepped down and no permanent replacement named.
Fortescue said on Monday that Mr Wells, who has served as its chief financial officer since late 2017, was leaving the company to “pursue other opportunities”.
The well-regarded finance boss has worked for the company since 2010, and was a key figure in Fortescue’s emergency debt refinancing in 2012 when tumbling iron ore prices forced the company to cut staff and temporarily defer its expansion plans.
Mr Wells was appointed to Fortescue’s top finance job in 2017 when outgoing CFO Ms Gaines won a promotion to chief executive.
Mr Wells was also responsible for Fortescue’s $US800m foray into the so-called green bond markets last year, a significant step as the company looked to capitalise on its plans to become a green hydrogen giant.
Dr Forrest said the Fortescue CFO had been a trusted member of the company’s senior leadership through a number of iron ore price cycles.
“Ian has made a huge contribution to Fortescue over what we will look back on as the formative years of Fortescue,” he said. “Working closely with the board, Ian and the executive team have played an important role in the development and execution of our capital allocation framework together with supporting Fortescue’s differentiating culture and values.”
Mr Wells leaves Fortescue amid a wealth of opportunities in the Australian mining sector. Pilbara Minerals and Evolution Mining are on the hunt for a new chief financial officer, and sources say the former Fortescue finance boss could also be in contention at Newcrest Mining, which parted company with chief executive Sandeep Biswas last month.
Dr Forrest remains as executive chairman of the company after stepping into the role last May as Fortescue hunted for a replacement for Ms Gaines.
But, in addition to Ms Gaines departure from its executive ranks – she retains a role as a non-executive director – the company has turned over the overwhelming majority of its senior executives since early 2021, when cost blowouts and scheduling delays at Fortescue’s Iron Bridge magnetite project forced the resignation of chief operating officer Greg Lilleyman and projects director Don Hyma.
The Fortescue board’s decision to strip about $50m from the expected bonus pool for senior executives in a surprise restructuring of the company’s incentive scheme in 2021 led to another wave of departures, including government affairs chief Tim Langmead, health and safety director Rob Watson and operations director Fernando Pereira.
Industry sources say Mr Wells was among those considering his position after the changes to Fortescue’s incentive scheme, but was convinced to stay on.
There was another wave of key departures last year, including its sales and marketing director, head of corporate affairs Alison Terry, replacement projects director Derek Brown, and human resources executive Linda O’Farrell.
FFI has lost several other high-profile recruits since Dr Forrest put green hydrogen at the centre of Fortescue’s future plans in late 2021, including former Clean Energy Investor Group chair Rob Grant, recruited as its head of energy, and the president of its North American operations who left only eight months into the role.
FFI also lost the services of its chief scientist in 2021 and Fortescue’s intelligence and security principal, Paul Scanlan, is still in court after alleging he was unfairly sacked for complaining about bullying and harassment.
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