Srinivasan (Venkat) Venkatakrishnan will step down as CEO of gold miner AngloGold Ashanti on August 31 to take up the CEO position at diversified miner Vedanta Resources.
AngloGold last week said it has started a global search, considering both internal and external applicants, for a successor, who would be announced by the time Venkat departed.
“The board will search for a candidate with the requisite experience and breadth of expertise, and who will be committed to maintaining the discipline and value focus that have become a hallmark of this business,” commented AngloGold chairperson Sipho Pityana.
He added that the company would explore the market widely and, when considering internal succession, the candidates would be tested and benchmarked against the wider market and competitors.
Pityana added that Venkat’s resignation was a significant moment in the life of the company. He said: “AngloGold has a depth of skill in the team that we have built since its establishment and we have sought to demonstrate [in our results presentations] the breadth of skill that we have. We are confident that the team that remains will be able to continue with the agenda that he had been driving.”
Pityana further assured shareholders that Venkat’s departure would not delay the negotiations currently under way regarding operations in Ghana and Tanzania.
“The engagements with Ghana and Tanzania are driven on the back of agreed strategy and programmes in those jurisdictions; we have a strong team that has been working on these, together with Venkat, and they remain in place.
Our discussions and negotiations are driven by that competent and capable team; there will not be any shift in focus or direction,” Pityana concluded.
Vedanta, meanwhile, reported that Venkat would succeed the company’s current interim CEO, Kuldip Kaura.
“We have gone through a thorough search process and are delighted to invite Venkat to join Vedanta in the CEO position,” said Vedanta chairperson Anil Agarwal.
Venkat commented that Vedanta had an outstanding reputation as a global, diversified resources business with world-class assets and an exceptional team.
“My initial focus will be to ensure continued operational excellence, efficient cost management and capital discipline across the portfolio, while continuing to drive improvements to the overall sustainability performance of the business, thereby creating long-term value for all stakeholders,” Venkat concluded.