AngloGold Ashanti loses top-performing chief executive
MINING company AngloGold Ashanti said yesterday its chief executive, Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, had resigned, after accepting an offer to become chief executive at diversified resources group Vedanta.
It said Venkatakrishnan, who spent 18 years with the AngloGold, with the past five years as chief executive, would remain in his current role until August 30.
“A global search for the new chief executive is under way, with a sub-committee of the board formed to evaluate internal and external candidates. It is the board’s intention that a successor will have been identified before Venkat’s departure,” the group.
Venkatakrishnan assumed the role of AngloGold Ashanti chief executive in May 2013, soon after the gold price fell by nearly a third.
Under his leadership, AngloGold Ashanti achieved a 16% reduction in all-in sustaining costs, a 30% reduction in all-in costs, a two-thirds reduction in overhead expenditure, a one-third reduction in debt, and the successful completion of two new mining projects, the company said.
“Productivity over the five years increased by 26%, from 7.66 ounces per total employee costed in 2012, to 9.66 ounces... in 2017,” it added. “This was all achieved while setting new benchmarks for safety performance and environmental stewardship, and without the issue of equity, thereby avoiding dilution to shareholders.” – African News Agency (ANA)