LONDON, UK: Anglo American plc announced the appointment of John Heasley as Finance Director, following the May 2023 announcement of Stephen Pearce’s decision to retire.
Mr Heasley is expected to join Anglo American and its Executive Leadership Team by no later than the end of 2023, prior to joining the Board as an executive director and taking over as Finance Director, thereby enabling a smooth transition through the year-end financial reporting process.
John Heasley has served as the CFO of The Weir Group PLC, the FTSE100 listed global engineering company, since 2016. As CFO, John has played a significant role in Weir’s transformation to focus on mining and the strategic delivery of technologies that improve productivity and sustainability in the mining industry, as well as driving performance improvement programmes.
Duncan Wanblad, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: “I am delighted that we will be welcoming John Heasley to Anglo American as Finance Director. John brings proven financial, strategic and commercial expertise, coupled with hands-on operational experience of supporting sustainable mining through technology as a major supplier to the mining industry over the last 15 years. We are also very grateful indeed to Stephen Pearce for his continued commitment as Finance Director until he hands over to John, focusing on ensuring we deliver our cost discipline and capital expenditure commitments, while ensuring a smooth transition.”
John Heasley said of his appointment: “I’m proud and excited to be appointed Finance Director of Anglo American, one of the world’s stand-out mining companies. As CFO of a major supplier to the mining industry, I have for many years been passionate about the role of technology, innovation and operational excellence in helping to fundamentally change the future of mining. The metals and minerals from mining have never been more essential and our focus must continue to be on getting those products to market in the most cost-effective and responsible way.”
Stuart Chambers, Chairman of Anglo American, said: “John Heasley brings great breadth of experience to the role of Finance Director and we look forward to welcoming him onto our Board.
“I would also like to thank Stephen Pearce, on behalf of the Board, for his enduring contribution to Anglo American and his steady hand as Finance Director over seven years. We wish Stephen well in his retirement.”
Stephen Pearce commented: “It’s been a real privilege to have served as Finance Director as we transformed the quality, resilience and future prospects of Anglo American. I am really proud of what we have achieved and in particular the role the Finance team has played and the transformation of our Finance capabilities to support Anglo American as it moves into its next phase of value delivery.”