Rio Tinto chair Du Plessis to join SABMiller
RIO TINTO’S chairman Jan du Plessis is set to take up the same role at brewing giant SABMiller next year, sparking criticism that he will not have time to fulfil his duties at the helm of both FTSE 100 firms.
The mining giant said yesterday that Du Plessis would join the board of SABMiller from 1 September and take over as chairman in July 2015.
“While the situation is not uncommon, it is unusual as Rio Tinto is an immensely complicated and dense global company,” a spokesperson from shareholder group Pirc told CityAM
“The Rio Tinto chairman role should be a full-time job to best serve the interests of shareholders.”
But Rio Tinto argued that Du Plessis’ plans to step down from the board of Marks and Spencer will free up his time for his new role. SABMiller said the board was comfortable that he will be able to spend as much time as necessary fulfilling his duties.
UPDATE: This article has been updated to include a response from SABMiller