Newcrest boss Sandeep Biswas ’not in the running’ for Rio Tinto top job

Newcrest boss Sandeep Biswas has ruled himself out of the running for the top job at Rio Tinto.

Newcrest boss Sandeep Biswas has ruled himself out of the running for the top job at Rio Tinto. Picture: Stuart McEvoy/The Australian.

Newcrest Mining boss Sandeep Biswas has ruled himself out of the running for the top job at Rio Tinto, telling staff at the gold mining major he is “not interested in any other CEO role outside of Newcrest”.

Mr Biswas told Newcrest staff on Monday he was not interested in the Rio job, describing speculation over his future as a “distraction”.

‘’Some of you may have seen recent articles and speculation in the media regarding my future at Newcrest. To ensure that none of us waste time or get distracted by these media reports, I would like to let you know that I am not interested in any other CEO role outside of Newcrest,’’ he said in a staff memo.

‘’I remain committed to Newcrest and to the people that have made this company a safe, healthy and exciting place to work.’’

Mr Biswas was believed to be one of the front runners for the role, with other names still believed to still be in contention including Anglo American finance boss Stephen Pearce, former Fortescue chief executive Nev Power, former BP chief financial officer Brian Gilvary and a handful of others.

Some early contenders, including Shell’s Zoe Yujnovich, are believed to have dropped out of contention and other high profile executives – like Anglo boss Mark Cutifani, South32 chief Graham Kerr and Newmont CEO Tom Palmer – have also made statements ruling themselves out of the running.

Mr Jacques agreed to step down from Rio’s top job over the Juukan Gorge scandal on September 11, along with iron ore boss Chris Salisbury and corporate affairs chief Simone Niven. He is due to leave the company when a successor is found, with the company having put a deadline on its search for a new chief executive of March 31, 2021.

But the parliamentary inquiry into Rio’s destruction of 46,000 heritage sites at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara is due to deliver its report by December 9, and Rio is believed to be keen to have a new boss in place before the report is handed down with its global search now understood to be winding to a close.

Rio’s new chief executive will inherit a plethora of problems, including an increasingly fractious relationship with its partners in the Oyy Tolgoi copper mine, in the Mongolian government and Turquoise Hill Resources, the need to ensure its iron ore division is back on track to regain its former title of the Pilbara’s most efficient iron ore producer, and reputational damage from the Juukan Gorge debacle that will take years to fix.

But with iron ore still selling for more than $US124 a tonne, they will also take over a company likely to be in an enviable financial position as the cash keeps rolling in from Rio’s flagship Pilbara operations.

Rio shares closed down 60c at $101.40 on Monday, with Newcrest down 16c to $26.93.