Vedanta Resources PLC (LON:VED) has appointed the boss of South African miner AngloGold Ashanti Ltd, Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, as its new chief executive.
Venkatakrishnan, who has been chief executive of AngloGold since 2013, will begin his new role at the mining group at the end of August. He will take over from interim chief executive Kuldip Kaura.
The news ends a year-long search to find a permanent replacement for Tom Albanese, who announced his resignation as chief executive last March.
During his five years at the helm of AngloGold, Venkatakrishnan has helped reduce the company’s all-in sustaining costs by 16%, increase production by 26% and cut debt by one-third. However, shares in the company have fallen almost 34% over the period.
READ: Vedanta Resources boosts metal production, hydrocarbons fall
"Venkat is a widely respected business leader in the global resources space, who brings to Vedanta an impressive set of values and a wealth of experience in corporate and other roles in the UK, Africa, Australia, South America and India," said Vedanta’s chairman Anil Agarwal.
“He also has a strong track record managing a complex portfolio of operating assets and projects across Africa."
Shares in Vedanta fell 4.04% to 717.40p each in late morning trading after Goldman Sachs downgraded the mining company to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’.
Vedanta’s shares have lost 4% over the past year while AngloGold’s stock has declined 37% over the same period.