Rio Tinto appoints new chief executive

05 December 2006

The boards of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited announced today that Tom Albanese will succeed Leigh Clifford as chief executive of Rio Tinto with effect from 1 May 2007, following the annual general meetings to be held in April. 

Tom, who is 49 and a US citizen, graduated in mineral economics and mining engineering from the University of Alaska. He joined Rio Tinto in 1993 and has had a succession of senior positions including chief executive roles in the Group's Industrial Minerals and Copper businesses and also as head of Exploration. He was appointed to the boards in March 2006 and currently holds the position of director, Group Resources.

Rio Tinto chairman Paul Skinner said: "The board is very pleased to appoint Tom Albanese to lead the next phase of Rio Tinto's development. He brings wide experience of the mining industry developed in a sequence of challenging technical, operational and strategic roles.  Tom has been a key player in a number of major Rio Tinto developments over recent years and also in shaping the Group's strategic direction."

Paul paid tribute to Leigh's long service to Rio Tinto: "Leigh has made an outstanding contribution to Rio Tinto over a 37 year career with the Group. During his seven years as chief executive the Group has seen strong growth in profitability and important advances in operational performance. He has been instrumental in developing the Group's position in key markets, notably in Asia, and in major acquisitions which have added significant shareholder value."