Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational and one of the world's largest metals and mining corporations.

Mining

Rio Tinto

Jakob Stausholm is currently the CEO at [Rio Tinto](/org/rio-tinto). Jakob has previously held various notable positions such as being a member of the board of advisors at IBM, the chief finance officer at [A.P. Moller - Maersk](/org/maersk), and a non-executive board member and chairman of the audit committee at Statoil. Jakob Stausholm has also been with Shell for over 20 years, where they started as vice president of finance for Shell Exploration & Production Asia Pacific.

Jakob Stausholm has a Master's degree in Economics from Københavns Universitet - University of Copenhagen. Jakob has also attended the Maersk design thinking workshop at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, the top hundred leadership program at [Harvard Business School](/org/harvard-business-school), various leadership courses at IMD, and the Shell leadership program at [INSEAD](/org/insead).

Simon Trott - Chief Executive, Iron Ore, Isabelle Deschamps - Chief Legal & External Affairs Officer, and Arnaud Soirat - Chief Operating Officer report to Jakob Stausholm.

Jakob Stausholm

Ngaire is the founding Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government, Professor of Global Economic Governance and the Founder and Director of the Global Economic Governance Programme at Oxford University. As a recognised expert in public policy, international development and governance, she has served as an adviser to the African Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the [Center for Global Development](/org/center-for-global-development), the [International Monetary Fund](/org/international-monetary-fund) and the European Union.

Ngaire Woods

Sam, a British citizen, has had a long and distinguished career in the energy industry, both in the UK and internationally. Sam brings to the board deep experience of long-cycle, high-capex and safety critical industries from his involvement in the upstream oil and gas industry for over 30 years. Sam also has particular experience of health, safety and community engagement issues in the mining industry, as well as experience of operations in developing countries that have a significant economic, environmental and social footprint.

Sam was Chief Executive Officer of Centrica plc from 2006-14. His other previous roles include Executive Vice President of Chevron Corporation; Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Oil plc; and President and Chief Operating Officer of Amerada Hess Corporation. He was also Non-Executive Director of Hanson PLC, a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group and was Senior Director of the UK Department of Transport. Sam is a qualified solicitor and has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from [INSEAD](/org/insead).

Sam Laidlaw

Megan, an Australian citizen, has had an extensive career in both the private and public sector, combining expertise in the metals and mining business with high-level experience in science, research and technology. Her core industry experience and knowledge bring valuable insight and effective contributions to the board.

Megan was Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) from 2009-14. Prior to CSIRO, Megan held various roles with Western Mining Corporation, was a director at N M Rothschild and Sons (Australia) and was Vice President, Technology, and subsequently Vice President, Health, Safety, Environment, Community and Sustainability, with BHP Billiton.

Megan holds a PhD in economic geology from Queen’s University, Canada, and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In 2014, she was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia.

Megan Clark

Moncef Ayoun

Mariella Castro

Bold became Chief Executive, Copper in February 2021.

Previously, Bold was the Chief Executive of the Energy & Minerals (E&M) product group. Through the development of new products and markets, a responsive market approach and the successful divestment of our coal business, Bold helped drive the optimisation of our portfolio with a focus on a low carbon future and in doing so, helped generate significant shareholder value. He also re-energised the Group’s focus on Africa and drove the development of [Rio Tinto](/org/rio-tinto) Ventures, which focuses on assessing growth opportunities in the minerals and metals of the future.

Bold joined [Rio Tinto](/org/rio-tinto) in May 2013 as president of Copper International Operations. He earlier held executive positions with a diversified investment management business, a gold mining company in his home country of Mongolia and as an investment banker with JP Morgan in New York and London. He was the chairman of the Mongolian Stock Exchange from 2010-12 and chairman of the Mongolian Mining Association from 2012-14.

Bold Baatar

Prior to his appointment as Chief Commercial Officer in 2021, Alf joined the Group as Chief Executive Rio Tinto Aluminium in 2014, a global portfolio comprising bauxite mines, alumina refineries and aluminium smelters. He has overseen significant improvements in safety while delivering industry leading financial performance, and significant growth projects, including the modernisation of the Kitimat smelter and construction of the new Amrun bauxite mine. Today, RTA is also an industry leader in sustainability, having launched the first certified low-carbon aluminium in 2016 and, in 2018, becoming the first company certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative for responsible production and helping to establish ELYSIS, a partnership with [Alcoa](/org/alcoa) supported by Apple and the governments of Canada and Quebec, to further develop the world’s first carbon-free smelting technology.

Alf has previously held various leadership positions at BP, including executive director and executive vice president, Downstream, at TNK-BP, based in Moscow, where he was directly responsible for the refining, trading, supply, logistics, and marketing businesses. He was president of the Spanish National Oil Industry Association (AOP) from 2009 until 2011. He works with the Commercial team to enhance value delivery across the company.

Alf Barrios

Arnaud became Chief Operating Officer in February 2021.

He was previously Chief Executive of our Copper & Diamonds (C&D) product group. Under Arnaud’s leadership, C&D progressed its growth projects and focused on operational excellence, productivity improvement and cost reduction, deploying lean manufacturing to help achieve its strong results, and embedding sustainability in the way the product group operates. [Rio Tinto](/org/rio-tinto) Diamonds are among the world’s most coveted and most responsible; and our copper is part of the sustainability solution, being essential for clean energy technologies that help address climate change.

Arnaud joined [Rio Tinto](/org/rio-tinto) in 2010 with 20 years’ experience in the metals and mining industry and a wealth of operational and commercial experience. Arnaud previously served as president and chief executive officer, [Rio Tinto](/org/rio-tinto) Aluminium Primary Metal, with responsibility for managing and improving global operations and businesses. Before joining [Rio Tinto](/org/rio-tinto), Arnaud spent 18 years in various technical and operational positions with [Alcoa](/org/alcoa) and Pechiney in both Australia and Europe.

Arnaud Soirat

Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive, Iron Ore in 2021, Simon was Chief Commercial Officer from 2018, responsible for our global sales and marketing, procurement, marine and logistics. Since joining in 2000, he has held a variety of operating, commercial and business development roles across a number of commodities. 

Under Simon’s leadership, the Commercial team continued to enhance customer experiences, in part by using new technology and digitisation to simplify interactions; the team has also launched initiatives to allow the business to respond more quickly to changing market conditions. 

Simon knows Western Australia well and has a deep understanding of the iron ore market and our customers globally. He is committed to leading Iron Ore safely to its next phase, with a strong focus on rebuilding trust with our communities and Traditional Owners.

Simon has been with our company for nearly two decades, holding a variety of commercial, operating and business development roles across a number of commodities. He has a graduate diploma in Finance & Investment (FINSIA) and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Simon Trott

Sinead became Chief Executive, Minerals in March 2021.

Since joining [Rio Tinto](/org/rio-tinto) in 1997 as a geologist, Sinead has held senior leadership and operational roles across Aluminium, Copper & Diamonds, Energy & Minerals, and Iron Ore. Most recently, she was Managing Director, Operations, at Copper & Diamonds.

Sinead brings to her current role strong operational expertise and asset leadership combined with a track record and commitment to sustainability: under her tenure as Managing Director, Copper & Diamonds, our Kennecott copper operation in Utah, US, became the first in the world to be awarded the Copper Mark, the industry’s independently assessed responsible production programme. Sinead also oversaw the reduction of Kennecott’s carbon footprint by more than 60%, achieved by closing the coal-fired power station and using renewable energy carbon offsets.


Sinead Kaufman

Dominic spent over 30 years at [McKinsey & Company](/org/mckinsey-company), including nine years as the Global Managing Partner. Most recently, he served as Canada’s Ambassador to China. Dominic offers a wealth of global business experience, as well as a deep insight of geopolitics, corporate sustainability and governance. Dominic was previously Chair of Teck Resources, from 2018 to 2019, and, in 2019, served as a Non-Executive Director at Singtel Group and Investor AB.

Dominic Barton

Mark was appointed Group executive, Safety, Technical and Projects in 2020. He is responsible for continuing to deliver on our number one priority – the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, contractors and communities – and on our long-standing commitment to the environments where we live and work.

Mark also oversees our technical centres of excellence, which partner with our assets to monitor and embed best practice in disciplines such as ore body knowledge, surface mining, underground mining, processing, automation, artificial intelligence and data science. His portfolio includes our major capital projects team, who apply their deep expertise to designing and building our future assets to be safe, productive and sustainable.

Having joined Rio Tinto in 1995 as a senior mechanical engineer, Mark worked in various operational and functional leadership roles across Australia, US, the UK and Singapore – including head of Group risk, and interim chief executive and chief commercial officer for our Iron and Titanium business. In 2016 he became head of commercial excellence and led the creation of our Commercial group. In his most recent role, Mark was vice president of our Group procurement function.



Mark Davies

Isabelle, a dual Canadian and UK citizen, has over 20 years’ experience in various senior legal roles across Europe and Canada. She joined AkzoNobel in 2018 as Group General Counsel, where she is responsible for all legal, integrity & compliance and intellectual property management, as well as company secretary. She was a driving force behind the Diversity & Inclusion programme.

Before joining AkzoNobel, Isabelle spent six years at Unilever in the UK and in The Netherlands where she had accountability for legal and compliance for its European businesses and its Food & Refreshment division worldwide. Prior to that she led the legal and compliance activities for the Personal Care business whilst also managing the global Intellectual Property group and spearheading legal support to e-commerce, digital and privacy.

Isabelle joined Unilever from Nestlé, where she held various positions in Switzerland and globally. She started her career at a Canadian law firm in Montreal and is admitted to the England and Wales Law Society and to the Quebec (Canada) Bar.

Isabelle Deschamps

Ben has had a prolific career in the Western Australian Parliament, holding the ministerial portfolios of Treasury, Finance, Energy and Aboriginal Affairs, and becoming the first Indigenous treasurer of any Australian parliament. His extensive knowledge of public policy, finance, international trade and Indigenous affairs brings valuable insight and adds to the depth of knowledge on the Board. He retired from the Western Australian Parliament in March 2021.

Ben’s career commenced in law, initially as a barrister and solicitor with a major national Australian law firm followed by the role of counsel to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Western Australia. Of Yamatji heritage, Ben also served on the National Board of Indigenous Business Australia and as an officer in the Australian Army after graduating from the Royal Military College, Duntroon. Ben holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Australia and a Masters of Science with Distinction from the London School of Economics.

In 2021, Ben was named Non-Executive Director of Woodside Petroleum Ltd.

Ben Wyatt

James joined our Executive Committee as Chief People Officer on 6 April 2021. Previously, James was a partner at [Egon Zehnder](/org/egon-zehnder), a global leadership advisory firm, for 15 years.

He has led a range of global practices and specialises in coaching, talent management and leadership development. Prior roles include senior equity research roles at Credit Suisse First Boston and [ABN AMRO](/org/abn-amro). He began his career as a pilot in the UK’s Royal Air Force.


James Martin

Peter Cunningham, Chief Financial Officer, was previously Group Controller. He has held a number of senior finance and leadership roles across the business in a career spanning 27 years with [Rio Tinto](/org/rio-tinto). He is a qualified chartered accountant.

Peter Cunningham

rior to being appointed Chief Executive, Aluminium in 2021, Ivan was Interim Chief Executive, Iron Ore. During his 17 years with the business, Ivan has held senior leadership positions in our Copper and Iron Ore product groups.

Most recently, he spent four years as Managing Director Rail, Port & Core Services, Iron Ore. In this role he was responsible for the end-to-end supply chain moving iron ore from our 16 mines across the Pilbara, through our rail network and on to customers via four port terminals at Dampier and Cape Lambert. Ivan also led the Core Services function which provides the support infrastructure, utilities and associated services vital to our iron ore operations.

Prior to joining the Iron Ore business, Ivan was Chief Operating Officer for Rio Tinto’s former Coal business, following five years working in the Copper product group in Mongolia, where he was Chief Operating Officer of the Oyu Tolgoi mine. 

He previously worked for Deloitte Consulting for five years focused on technology and innovation in the mining industry.

Ivan is also currently the president of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia which has focused recently on critical industry issues such as collaborating with the government on the response to COVID-19.

Ivan Vella

Kellie was appointed Chief Executive, Australia in 2021.

Prior to this, Kellie was Managing Director, Pacific Operations, Aluminium. She joined in 2001 and has held a number of safety, operational and leadership roles across both the Iron Ore and Aluminium businesses.

In her new role, Kellie will represent our Australian interests with all stakeholders and bring her operational experience and community values to listen, respond and set the direction for the business. She has a people-centric approach, with a strong commercial background and is an advocate for Indigenous Australians.

Kellie Parker

Jennifer Nason is a Global Chairman at JP Morgan, with over 30 years’ experience of corporate finance and capital markets. For the past 17 years, she has led the Technology, Media and Telecommunications global client practice, based in the USA. During her time at JP Morgan, she has also worked in the metals and mining sector team in Australia. Jennifer has dual Australian-US nationality and is a current director and former chair of the American Australian Association.

Jennifer Nason

Simon, a British citizen, has significant global experience in the oil and gas industry, having spent more than 30 years at Royal Dutch Shell plc, most notably as Chief Financial Officer, a position that he held from 2009-17. He was Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Finance, Exploration & Production from 2004-09, and prior to this he was head of Group Investor Relations from 2001-04.

Simon brings extensive financial expertise to the board and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and has a BA in Mathematics and an MA from the [University of Cambridge](/org/university-of-cambridge).

Simon Henry

Simon brings insights into a wide range of sectors including financial services, the law, government and charities. He practiced as a solicitor before joining [Macquarie Group](/org/macquarie-group) where he spent 30 years culminating as Executive Chairman of its business in the State of Victoria, Australia. Simon served as Chairman of AMP Limited and of the Australian government’s research and development body, CSIRO. He also served as the first president of the Australian Takeovers Panel.

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