Talented Rio rival Andrew Harding removed after losing race

The sudden departure of Andrew Harding has managed to be both predictable and surprising.

Incoming Rio Tinto CEO Jean Sebastian Jacques. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

The sudden departure of Rio Tinto iron ore boss Andrew Harding has managed to be both predictable and surprising.

Predictable, in that it continues a long history of an overlooked chief executive candidate quickly moving on (or being moved on) once the new guy takes the reins. Surprising, in that Rio has willingly let go of one of its top performers.

Such is the importance of the iron ore role that Harding had been the highest paid Rio Tinto executive outside of the CEO and chief financial officer.

Rio’s most recent annual report shows that Harding had been meeting his targets. His short-term incentive payment, which is linked to specific goals, was the second-highest as a percentage of salary of any Rio executive last year (second only to Jean Sebastian Jacques, the man who of course beat him to the CEO post).

Speaking soon after Jacques’ appointment back in March, Harding admitted he was disappointed about missing out on the top job but said he was committed to sticking with what was “definitely the best iron ore mining business in the world”. That public statement suggests it was Jacques who started the conversation that led to Harding’s departure.

The change has allowed Jacques to install a known quantity in Chris Salisbury into the all-important iron ore role, given Salisbury worked beneath Jacques during their time in Rio’s coal division.

Having someone in the iron ore role with which he has an established working relationship will be a far simpler proposition for Jacques than working with Harding — who was once Jacques’ superior and who was seen externally as the most likely successor to former CEO Sam Walsh.