Fund targets Glencore’s ‘Mini-me’ chief executive

GLENCORE should oust its chief executive because he is a “stumbling block” to overhauling the mining giant’s fortunes, an activist investor has said.

In a letter sent by Bluebell Capital, the activist investor accused Gary Nagle of “weak leadership” and failing to transform the company’s culture after taking over from former long-standing boss Ivan Glasenberg three years ago.

Bluebell, which said it had sold its remaining Glencore shares, dismissed Mr Nagle as a “Mini-me type character” in thrall to Mr Glasenberg, a derogatory reference to the minion of Dr Evil in the Austin Powers films.

The two were colleagues for years and Mr Glasenberg remains Glencore’s biggest shareholder, with a 10pc stake.

The investor pointed to corruption scandals that have rocked the company, while raising “serious reservations” about a planned sale of Glencore’s agricultural business and a potential separation of its thermal coal assets.

The letter, first reported by The Mail on Sunday, comes after Bluebell separately launched an attack on oil giant BP for its “irrational” approach to renewable energy investments.

In remarks to Glencore’s board, Bluebell partners Giuseppe Bivona and Marco Taricco wrote: “After two years closely following, and communicating with the company, we have lost faith, trust, and confidence in Mr Nagle, whom we view as the real stumbling block for future value creation.

“Additionally, based on our intelligence, Mr Nagle’s diminishing market support is privately shared internally inside the company.

“We strongly recommend that the board reviews Mr Nagle’s performance and considers appointing an external CEO. Glencore deserves so much more than an Austin Powers ‘mini-me’ type character”.

A spokesman for Glencore declined to comment on the letter, but pointed to votes at the company’s last annual general meeting where Mr Nagle and his climate strategy secured 99pc and 70pc shareholder approval respectively.

Bluebell claimed victory in its campaign for a separation of Glencore’s coal business, after the company last year announced plans for a shareholder vote on the move. That followed Glencore’s takeover of the steelmaking coal business of Canada-based Teck Resources for $6.9bn (£5.5bn).

Mr Nagle previously set out plans to wind down the extraction of thermal coal, which is used to generate electricity, but also said the company would consider a spin-off if major shareholders demanded one.