Australian mining company Rio Tinto’s Chief Financial Officer Jakob Stausholm is set to take charge as its CEO from Jan 1, after Jean-Sébastien Jacques, who presently holds the office, steps down. Jacques had received flak from investors and aboriginals after Rio Tinto blasted parts of 46,000 years old Juukun Gorge caves in Western Australia for expansion a few months ago. The caves hold importance as a cultural and archeological site. He subsequently stepped down in September.
The move came as a surprise as most market participants expected an external appointment to mend the relationship with the locals, according to media reports. Rio Tinto is also likely to pay compensation over the incident after the Joint Standing Committee of Northern Australia cited the destruction as inexcusable.