Anglo proposes board reshuffle

Johannesburg – Resources group Anglo American [JSE:AGL] on Wednesday announced the proposed appointment of Byron Grote as a non-executive director.

He will be proposed to shareholders at Anglo’s annual general meeting on April 19.

Grote is currently executive vice president‚ corporate business activities at BP.

It is intended that he will join the audit committee of the board on appointment and that he will‚ after a period of induction‚ assume the role of chairman of that committee from David Challen‚ who has rendered outstanding service in that role since 2003.

Challen has agreed‚ given the extensive changes to the board since late 2009‚ to serve for at least another year as the senior independent non-executive director.

Peter Woicke has informed the board of his intention to retire as a non-executive director‚ also with effect from the AGM in April‚ to enable him to concentrate on his range of other commitments.

Woicke joined the board in January 2006. He is the chairman of the board safety and sustainable development committee and also serves on the nomination and remuneration committees. He will be succeeded as chairman of the board safety and sustainable development committee by Jack Thompson.

Commenting on the proposed changes‚ Anglo American’s chairperson‚ Sir John Parker‚ said: "Byron Grote has over 30 years international experience in the natural resources sector. He has held a very broad range of senior roles‚ spanning areas including finance‚ strategy‚ exploration‚ chemicals and technology‚ and he also has significant boardroom experience. We are delighted to recommend to shareholders his appointment as a non-executive director.

"Peter Woicke has made a very valuable contribution to the board over the past seven years. We have benefited greatly from his breadth of experience and‚ in particular‚ his knowledge of international development issues. He has been an excellent chairman of our board safety and sustainable development committee for the last three years. We will be sorry to see him retire from the board.

"We are fortunate to have someone of Jack Thompson’s extensive mining experience and knowledge of safety and sustainability issues to take over as chairman of our board safety and sustainable development committee and to build on Peter Woicke’s excellent work‚" said Parker.