Peter Meurs: Fortescue exec answers higher calling of Mormon church
Peter Meurs’ lifelong devotion to the Mormon church will see him walk away from iron ore miner Fortescue Metals.
Peter Meurs’ lifelong devotion to the Mormon church will see him walk away from his other passion: iron ore miner Fortescue Metals.
The Andrew Forrest-led Fortescue yesterday announced that Mr Meurs would leave his position as an executive director to take a full-time role with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The somewhat unusual career progression will see Mr Meurs initially move to Salt Lake City, where he will become one of the church’s 90 “general authorities”. He will then spend the next five years in various church outposts around the world in a leadership and teaching role.
Mr Meurs told The Australian that the decision had been an easy one.
“I was called to do it,” he said. “I could not choose the timing, and I had no expectation that it would ever happen.”
Mr Meurs was a particularly high-profile recruit when joined Fortescue in 2010, having made his name as managing director of engineering giant WorleyParsons. He had been responsible for Fortescue’s $US9 billion expansion of its Pilbara iron ore network to a 155 million tonne per annum production capacity, which he described as the high point of his career.
“What we achieved has now become a benchmark for the industry,” he said.
Mr Meurs invested heavily in Fortescue shares upon joining the company, emerging as one of the company’s biggest shareholders and its most invested executive after Mr Forrest. His investment at more than $6 a share has been underwater for most of his time with the company given the weakness in iron ore prices, and last September he lost control of 16 million shares that had been bought under a financing arrangement from Mr Forrest.
He continues to own 9.8 million Fortescue shares, and he told The Australian he continued to be “a proud shareholder” of Fortescue while he waited for its true value to be realised.
Mr Forrest said Mr Meurs had played a critical role in Fortescue’s development.
“Peter lives and breathes innovation and has empowered those around him through his ability to passionately articulate a clear vision,” he said.
“Peter is a very dear friend who I will miss greatly.”
Mr Meurs’ responsibilities will be filled by Fortescue’s group manager of development Simon Carter, who was already responsible for the company’s exploration, development and project portfolio.
Fortescue closed up 7c to $3.11 yesterday.