Shell may be next for Rio Tinto's Elliott

RIO Tinto's chief financial officer and longest-serving director, Guy Elliott, will step down at the end of 2013.

RIO Tinto's chief financial officer and longest-serving director, Guy Elliott, will step down at the end of 2013 after 10 years on the board during which the company rode the China boom, was brought to its knees by an unwise acquisition and was almost forced to sell big chunks of its best assets to China.

But Mr Elliott is leaving on his own terms and is rumoured to be in line to take over the top board job at the world's biggest company, Shell, illustrating the esteem in which investors and directors still hold him and the Rio turnaround he played a hand in over the past two years.

It also gives credence to rumours that Mr Elliott was a dissenting voice during board discussions over the debt-fuelled $US38.1 billion acquisition of Alcan in 2007 and the subsequent $US18.5bn rescue package from Chinalco, which was eventually scotched by shareholders. No replacement for the 56-year-old, who has been with Rio for 32 years, has been announced.

Mr Elliott's decision to leave probably cements for the next couple of years the position of chief executive Tom Albanese, who in May marked five tumultuous years in the top job at the miner.

There are no longer calls for Mr Albanese to walk in the wake of the Alcan purchase, talks about which had already started when he came on board and were steered by then chairman Paul Skinner.

The board is unlikely to push its top executive out in the name of renewal at the same time as it loses the experience of Mr Elliott.

It is understood Mr Elliott was against the Chinalco package, which was quashed by shareholders and then incoming chairman Jan du Plessis. There are also indications he was a dissenting voice in the boardroom about the Alcan deal.

As one of the company's biggest London shareholders put it, as Rio began to get back on its feet after the deal, things would have been a lot worse for the miner without Mr Elliott.

Rio chairman Mr du Plessis -- whose first big move at the helm of the Rio board was to quash the Chinalco deal in favour of a $US15bn rights issue and an eventually unsuccessful deal to merge iron ore businesses with BHP Billiton -- praised Mr Elliott's career at Rio.

"I would like to thank him on behalf of the board for his invaluable contribution, particularly for his wise counsel and support," Mr du Plessis said.

Mr Albanese said he was grateful for Mr Elliott's leadership of Rio's finances and strategy during challenging times.

Mr Elliott has not ruled out executive roles after Rio, but there is speculation in London that he is a potential candidate to chair Royal Dutch Shell if current chairman Jorma Ollila, who has been in the job for six years and stepped down as Nokia chairman in May, retires.

Mr Elliott, who will also retire from the Rio board, is a Shell director.

His retirement has also led to a reshuffle at Rio, with Brisbane-based energy chief Doug Ritchie being promoted to a London position heading strategy and business development -- a role previously carried out by Mr Elliott.

The move will see Mr Ritchie working closely with Mr Albanese and cements him as an internal candidate for the top job when Mr Albanese goes.