Exclusive-Next Rio Tinto boss expected to entertain big deals, cut costs, sources say

By Melanie Burton and Clara Denina

MELBOURNE/LONDON (Reuters) -Rio Tinto's new CEO, who could be announced as soon as this month, should be open to transformative merger and acquisition deals as well as sharpening productivity and cost cuts, said two people aware of the chair's priorities.

The world's biggest iron ore miner is in the later stages of picking a new chief executive through an internal and external search process after it surprised shareholders in May by announcing Jakob Stausholm would step down after 4-1/2 years.

Finalists for the top job will make their pitches to the board in London this week, according to two other sources familiar with the search process, and an appointment could be announced as soon as late July, one of those sources said.

Chair Dominic Barton's preference for the new CEO to be open to large-scale deals and the timing of the board presentations have not been reported previously.

Internal candidates include Simon Trott, who has been the chief executive of its iron ore division since 2021, Bold Baatar, its chief commercial officer, as well as aluminium division head Jerome Pecresse, Reuters reported in May.

Chief Technical Officer Mark Davies is also a candidate, said a fifth source.

The sources all spoke on condition of anonymity because the search process is confidential.

Rio, which is scheduled to release its half-year results on July 30, declined to comment. Barton, Trott, Baatar, Pecresse and Davies did not respond to requests for comment.

'BIG TICKET M&A'

Since Stausholm's departure was announced, Barton has met with stakeholders to discuss the abrupt changing of the guard.

The two people privy to conversations outlining Barton's priorities around a new CEO said he floated the idea of "big ticket M&A" with another mining major if sufficient value could be found.

Rio was approached by Glencore about a potential asset combination last year but talks were short-lived amid pushback from Stausholm, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Some analysts have speculated a tie-up with Canada's Teck Resources could be a better fit.

A new CEO will have to walk a fine line between cost discipline and repositioning the miner for a potentially dramatic shift towards copper, which is expected to be in high demand due to the energy transition.

There is an acknowledgement at the company that internal costs, such as staffing, are excessive and it needs a CEO who will better manage them, said the two people briefed by Barton.

From 2020 to 2024, costs at Rio grew by 46.5%, faster than at BHP and Anglo American, financial results show, meaning a new boss will have to be disciplined with capital allocation.

RBC Capital Markets estimates Rio faces $30 billion to $35 billion in capital spending over the next decade, including $8 billion to $9 billion on lithium projects after Stausholm won rights to two new projects in Chile in May.

"Jakob has previously said they're going to go hard on lithium, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the lithium growth projects got pushed out a bit in favour of copper," said RBC analyst Kaan Peker.

Peker said he sees any immediate M&A as unlikely because a new CEO will have to improve the company's share price performance so it can get the most bang for its buck should it use shares to take a tilt at another major miner.

CONSTRAINTS

One of the sources familiar with the CEO search process said the talk inside the company is of an internal hire.

But all of the top contenders have constraints for a board concerned with operational excellence and cost-cutting in particular, analysts and investors said.

It was also uncertain if an internal hire will sufficiently address persistent cultural issues such as around safety in Guinea and sexual harassment in Australia, they added.

Trott oversaw the final ramp-up of the Gudai-Darri mine that led to its second-highest iron ore shipments ever in 2023 and brought on new replacement projects. He also managed sensitive Aboriginal heritage issues after Rio damaged rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in 2020.

But since Trott took on the role in 2021, Rio has continued to be the highest-cost major Australian iron ore producer, its ore quality has dropped and it is guiding for production in the lower half of its expected range for this year due to cyclones.

"It's been a tough four years. The business definitely showed turnaround in 2023 but it's been a tough hand with Juukan Gorge and the weather," said Barrenjoey analyst Glyn Lawcock.

For Baatar, who previously spent three years at the head of Rio's copper business including the Oyu Tolgoi mine in his native Mongolia, the issue is the miner's relationship with the government.

Stausholm announced a reset with Mongolia in 2022 including a debt waiver of $2.4 billion, but Rio said last month it had to change its mine plan after the government delayed the transfer of a mining licence.

Pecresse is favoured by some board members, according to one of the sources familiar with the search process, after having led a 61% increase in underlying EBITDA for the aluminium division in 2024.

He joined Rio in October 2023 and previously led GE's renewable energy division, significantly expanding its global presence, though the unit struggled with profitability before his departure.

Davies is accountable for driving productivity improvements that could aid cost-cutting efforts and has led its smaller marine and titanium and iron arms, but not a major operational division like the other candidates.

There is a slim chance that Rio will tap an outsider, analysts said.

Newmont CEO Tom Palmer and former Oz Minerals CEO Andrew Cole have been mentioned as potential external contenders, Reuters reported previously.

Investors said Sandfire Resources CEO Brendan Harris is also seen as a possible candidate. Harris did not respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Melanie Burton and Clara Denina; Editing by Veronica Brown and Jamie Freed)