JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Long-serving AngloGold Ashanti CFO Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan (Venkat) and executive VP business and technical development Tony O’Neill will act as joint interim chief executives when incumbent AngloGold Ashanti CEO Mark Cutifani departs to take over as CEO of diversified major Anglo American plc from April 3.
Cutifani, who will take over from Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll, will remain CEO of AngloGold Ashanti until March 31.
The AngloGold Ashanti board, lead by chairperson Tito Mboweni, has initiated a formal search for a new AngloGold Ashanti CEO from both internal and external candidates.
Venkat, who has held positions in the company since 2000, will be responsible for all finance and corporate functions and O’Neill for all operations, projects – including enterprise resource planning and procurement – and technical functions.
O’Neill, who joined AngloGold Ashanti in 2008 and has had an extensive career in mining since 1978, will join the board of directors in coming weeks.
Both he and Venkat have told the board that they are not at this time intending to put themselves forward for the position of CEO.