The Board of AngloGold Ashanti is pleased to announce the appointment of Alberto Calderon as Chief Executive Officer of the company, effective 1 September 2021.
Mr Calderon has more than two decades of executive leadership experience in the global mining sector. Until March of this year he was CEO of Orica, the world’s number one commercial explosives maker. He was previously a senior executive at the world’s largest mining company, BHP, where his roles included Chief Commercial Officer and CEO of Aluminium, Nickel and Corporate Development; as well as CEO of Cerrejón, Colombia’s largest mining operation, and one of the largest coal mining operations in the world.
Christine Ramon will remain as Interim CEO until Mr Calderon takes up his new position. before resuming her role as AngloGold Ashanti’s Chief Financial Officer.
Maria Ramos, Chairman of AngloGold Ashanti, said: “I am delighted to welcome Alberto as CEO of AngloGold Ashanti following a comprehensive global search in which we considered several excellent candidates. We are confident that, in Alberto, we have the right person to lead this company forward and realise its outstanding potential, drawing on his huge leadership experience in the resources sector across a variety of geographies.
“On behalf of the Board and the company, I would like to extend my gratitude to Christine for her tireless commitment through a particularly tumultuous period globally. Her leadership was critical in coordinating an effective response to the pandemic, keeping the company focused on our strategy and maintaining a strong financial position.”
Mr. Calderon said: “AngloGold Ashanti brings together a high-quality portfolio and a strong commitment to deliver social, environmental and shareholder value that I relate to strongly on a personal level. I think the company has an exciting future and I look forward to working with the Board and the AngloGold Ashanti team around the world to deliver on this potential.”
Notes to Editors
Alberto Calderon
Alberto Calderon holds a PhD in Economics, a Master of Philosophy in Economics and a Master of Economics from Yale University, a Juris Doctor in Law and Bachelor of Economics from Andes University in Colombia.
Alberto’s executive experience includes leadership roles across the mining, petroleum, and energy sectors. He was appointed CEO of Orica in May 2015 and had been a Board member of the company since 2013. He stepped down in February 2021, a year later than planned as he agreed to lead the company through the initial part of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alberto was an executive with the world’s leading diversified mining company, BHP. During his time with BHP , Alberto held a number of key leadership positions, including Group Executive and Chief Executive Aluminium, Nickel and Corporate Development (2011 – 2013), Group Executive and Chief Commercial Officer (2007 – 2011, with responsibility for acquisitions and divestments, marketing, supply and information management) and President Diamonds and Specialty Products (2006 – 2007).
Alberto’s track record provides him direct experience in several of AngloGold Ashanti’s operating geographies. His leadership of BHP Billiton’s aluminium business, which had smelters in South Africa and Mozambique, gives him excellent working knowledge of South Africa and its economic and political landscape.
Alberto was also Chief Executive Officer at Cerrejón Coal Company, an integrated thermal coal mine in his home country of Colombia (2002 – 2006), and at the Colombian oil company, Ecopetrol (1999 – 2002).
Prior to this, Alberto held senior leadership positions in the International Monetary Fund and the Colombian government and has been a Board member of a range of private, public and non-government organisations.
Orica
Orica, based in Melbourne, is the largest provider of commercial explosives and innovative blasting systems to the world’s extractive and construction markets, and a leading supplier of reagents for gold extraction. The company’s investment in technology in recent years has placed it at the forefront of digital and wireless blasting systems for the global mining industry. Orica has a presence in over 100 countries and derives almost a quarter of its revenues from the international gold mining sector. It employs around 11,500 people.
AngloGold Ashanti
AngloGold Ashanti Limited (AngloGold Ashanti), with its head office in South Africa, is an independent, global gold mining company with a diverse, high-quality portfolio of operations, projects and exploration activities across nine countries on four continents.
