CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS – AUSTRALIA – APPOINTMENTS AND RETIREMENTS

Mining boss calls time at 69 after ushering in golden era for Perseus

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 6-Nov-25

Perseus Mining’s market capitalisation is currently about $6.9bn, compared with just $100m when Jeff Quartermaine became CEO in 2013. The gold miner’s revenue has risen from $293m to $1.24bn over the same period. Quartermaine is stepping down after 13 years at the helm and with his 69th birthday approaching; he says the company’s next stage of growth will require somebody with the energy and commitment to take on the role for 5-10 years. Perseus has a focus on Africa, but Quartermaine says Regis Resources’ blocked McPhillamys gold project in NSW shows that there is sovereign risk much closer to home.

CORPORATES
PERSEUS MINING LIMITED – ASX PRU, REGIS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RRL

‘No regrets’: Rio Tinto’s outgoing CEO marks his scorecard

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Original article by Eric Johnston
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 13-Aug-25

Rio Tinto’s head of iron ore Simon Trott will formally succeed Jakob Stausholm as CEO on 25 August. Stausholm says he is proud of what he has achieved at Rio Tinto since taking up the role in 2021; amongst other things, he addressed the resources group’s cultural issues, rebuilt trust in the company in the wake of the Juukan Gorge scandal and increased its exposure to the copper and lithium sectors. Stausholm has defended Rio Tinto’s move to ramp up exposure to lithium, arguing that it is very clear that the world needs more lithium.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Trott faces a tough Rio agenda

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 16-Jul-25

Rio Tinto veteran Simon Trott will succeed outgoing CEO Jakob Stausholm on 25 August; other internal contenders had included chief commercial officer Bold Baatar and aluminium division boss Jerome Pecresse. Trott has been Rio Tinto’s head of iron ore for four years, and chairman Dominic Barton has praised his contribution to the flagship division; Trott in turn has praised Jakob Stausholm’s leadership and guidance since he replaced Jean-Sebastien Jacques as CEO in 2021. Trott’s immediate challenges in his new role will include Rio Tinto’s big investment in lithium during Stausholm’s tenure and its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Outsider to lead ANZ into new era

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Original article by Lucas Baird, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 17 : 10-Dec-24

The ANZ Bank has advised that Nuno Matos will succeed CEO Shayne Elliott in mid-2025. Matos was previously the head of wealth management and personal banking at HSBC; he had also been considered for the role of CEO at Westpac, although the major bank opted to replace Peter King with internal candidate Anthony Miller. High Dive from Atlas Funds Managements says an external appointment will be able to help resolve cultural issues at ANZ. These include a bond trading scandal in its markets division, which effectively ruled out the head of institutional banking Mark Whelan as Elliott’s replacement.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, HSBC BANK PLC, ATLAS FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

ANZ’s Elliott to quit after nine years

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, Kylar Loussikian
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 23 : 9-Dec-24

The ANZ Bank is tipped to appoint an external candidate to succeed CEO Shayne Elliott, who is expected to step down within days. ANZ’s acquisition of Suncorp Bank for $4.9bn and a bond trading scandal are likely to be the key legacies of Elliott’s tenure at the helm, which began in 2016. ANZ has also scaled back its Asian operations under Elliott, while it has ramped up investment in platforms such as ANZ Plus. Meanwhile, ANZ has delivered a total return to shareholders of 111 per cent since Elliott became CEO; this higher than Westpac’s return but much lower than that of the Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, SUNCORP BANK, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Sneesby had to go: top Nine investor

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Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 13-Sep-24

Nine Entertainment Company has advised that CEO Mike Sneesby will step down at the end of September, after more than three years in the role. Nine’s chief finance and strategy officer Matt Stanton will become acting CEO until the media company appoints a permanent replacement. Reece Birtles from institutional investor Martin Currie says Sneesby’s departure was not unexpected, given the challenges that Nine is facing; they include revenue growth, cultural issues and concerns about its Domain property listings business. Nine’s market capitalisation has fallen below $2bn, compared with more than $5bn when Sneesby became CEO in April 2021.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Long search ahead for new telco chief

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Original article by Jared Lynch, Eric Johnston, Greg Brown, Tansy Harcourt
The Australian – Page: 6 : 21-Nov-23

Optus has appointed CFO Michael Venter as its interim CEO following the resignation of Kelly Bayer Rosmarin in the wake of the recent network outage. Bayer Rosmarin told Optus staff that she had decided that her resignation was in the best interests of the telco. She was widely criticised for her response to the outage, and she had attracted similar criticism over her handling of Optus’s data breach in 2022. Yuen Kuan Moon, the CEO of parent company Singapore Telecommunications, says Bayer Rosmarin had led Optus during a "challenging period", and stressed that Optus is an "integral part" of the company’s business.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED

Alan Joyce to depart Qantas early

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Original article by Ayesha de Kretser,Joe Aston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 6-Sep-23

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has stepped down with immediate effect, stating that recent events have made it clear that he should bring forward his retirement by two months and allow the airline to move ahead with its ‘renewal’ as a priority. Qantas has come under scrutiny over its role in lobbying the federal government to block Qatar Airways’ request for additional flights to Australia, as well as legal action by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission over allegations that Qantas had sold tickets for more than 8,000 flights that it had already cancelled. Incoming CEO Vanessa Hudson will face the challenge of restoring Qantas’s reputation. Michele Levine, the CEO of Roy Morgan, which surveys the public regularly on the question of whether Corporate Australia is facing moral bankruptcy, says the poor behaviour of many of the economy’s corporate leaders reveals a moral blindness to what is ethical and in the community’s interest rather than solely in the shareholders’ interest.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN,ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Next Qantas CEO stares down $12.3b fleet revamp

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 3-May-23

The pressing need to upgrade an ageing fleet will be a key challenge for Qantas veteran Vanessa Hudson when she succeeds CEO Alan Joyce in November. However, she is confident that Qantas will be able to manage the capital requirements of a fleet upgrade while continuing to reward shareholders. UBS estimates that Qants will need to spend $12.3bn on new airplanes between the 2024 and 2028 fiscal years, given that the average age of its fleet increased from 7.7 years in 2014 to 13.6 in 2022. Qantas chairman Richard Goyder has praised Hudson, noting that she has been in her current role of CFO during one of the most challenging periods in the airline’s history.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

Coles warns on price rises as shoppers grab home brands

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 22-Feb-23

Coles Group has advised that CEO Steven Cain will step down on 1 May after five years in the role. He will be succeeded by Leah Weckert, who will be the first woman to run a major supermarket chain in Australia. Coles has posted a 2022-23 interim net profit from continuing operations of $616m, which is 11.4 per cent higher than previously; revenue rose four per cent to $20.59bn. The company has indicated that price inflation rose to 7.7 per cent across its product range in the December quarter, up from 7.1 per cent in the September quarter. However, Cain expects inflation to moderate in the second half of the financial year. Weckert notes that many consumers are switching to home-brand grocery products amid the cost-of-living pressures.

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL