AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU)
-- The Board of
AngloGold Ashanti today announced the resignation of Chief
Executive Officer Mark Cutifani, who has accepted an offer to
become the Chief Executive Officer of Anglo American Plc, effective
April 3. Mark will remain in the role of CEO of AngloGold Ashanti
until March 31.
The Board of Directors, under Chairman Tito Mboweni, has
initiated a formal search for a new Chief Executive Officer of
AngloGold Ashanti, in terms of which both internal and external
candidates will be considered. When Mark's resignation becomes
effective and until a new CEO has been appointed, the board has
asked Chief Financial Officer Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan (Venkat)
and Executive Vice President Business & Technical Development
Tony O'Neill to act as joint interim Chief Executives, with Venkat
responsible for all Finance and Corporate functions and Tony
responsible for all Operations, Projects (including ERP and
procurement) and Technical functions.
Both executives are well suited for their interim roles with
strong track records at AngloGold Ashanti and in the mining
industry. Venkat has held positions at AngloGold and Ashanti
Goldfields since 2000 and has been Chief Financial Officer of
AngloGold Ashanti since 2005. Tony, who will join the board of
directors in coming weeks, joined AngloGold Ashanti in 2008 and has
had an extensive career in mining since 1978. Both Venkat and Tony
have indicated to the Board of Directors that they are not at this
time intending to put themselves forward for the position of
CEO.
Commenting on Mark's intended departure, Mr. Tito Mboweni,
Chairman of the Board of Directors, said: "I would like to thank
Mark for five years of inspirational leadership, during which time
he transformed the business. Mark led a significant operations and
financial turnaround with industry-leading returns, and built a
leadership team with outstanding breadth and depth. I am indebted
to Mark for successfully navigating many difficult aspects of the
global business and for setting the company up for long-term
success."
Since the launch of AngloGold's new strategy under Mark at the
beginning of 2008, safety has improved by some 70%, the hedge book
has been eliminated and the balance sheet rebuilt, the operating
performance of several key assets have been improved and key growth
projects are scheduled to start production in the next 12 months.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation almost
tripled over that time, outpacing gains in the gold price. Mark
also initiated a comprehensive business improvement and
people-focused intervention -- Project One -- which continues to
drive stability and improved performance across the business.
AngloGold Ashanti's Board, its executive management team and
employees would like to offer their heartfelt thanks to Mark for
his significant contribution to the company and to wish him every
success in his new role.
Commenting on his intended departure, Mark said: "It's been a
privilege working with the Board and my colleagues to rebuild our
operations and financial foundations and deliver industry-leading
capital returns, whilst developing a project pipeline to deliver
long-term sustainable value. But it's the focus on people, the
rebuilding of the management team and their delivery of significant
safety, environment and community development improvements, that
will help AngloGold Ashanti prosper in the long term."
Backgrounds of Interim Co-Chief Executive
Officers Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan and Tony O'Neill
Mr S Venkatakrishnan (Venkat) BCom, ACA
(ICAI) Chief Financial Officer
Venkat joined AngloGold Ashanti on 1 July 2004, having been
Chief Financial Officer at Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited
(Ashanti) until that company's merger with AngloGold Limited in May
2004. He was appointed to the board on 1 August 2005, is a member
of the Executive, Risk and Information Integrity and Investment
Committees and is invited to attend meetings of the Audit and
Corporate Governance Committee. Venkat has extensive financial
experience, having been a director in the reorganisation services
division of Deloitte & Touche in London prior to joining
Ashanti in 2000. Venkat is a member of the audit committee of the
World Gold Council and has recently been appointed to the Financial
Reporting Investigation Panel, an advisory panel of the JSE.
Venkat led the team that eliminated a 12Moz hedge book at an
attractive average price, generating significant value for the
company. He was also the key executive behind rebuilding the
balance sheet through a series of successful and innovative
financings that included debt, convertible debt and equity. His
efforts to secure an international investment grade rating for
AngloGold Ashanti and then to successfully defend that rating after
a wave of industrial unrest in South Africa, have helped AngloGold
Ashanti retain a competitive cost of capital. As the lead executive
on all M&A activity, he has successfully negotiated a series of
acquisitions and disposals, including the $1bn sale of the
Boddington stake to Newmont and the sale of Tau Lekoa to Simmer
& Jack. (Acquisitions have largely been bolt-on in nature and
value accretive.)
Mr AM O'Neill BSc (Mining Engineering),
MBA Executive Vice President - Business and Technical
Development
Tony O'Neill joined AngloGold Ashanti in July 2008 as Executive
Vice President - Business and Technical Development, having
consulted to the company prior to this on its asset portfolio
strategy. He is a mining engineer with an MBA from the University
of Melbourne. His extensive career in mining, predominantly in the
gold sector, has spanned almost 35 years, including his previous
role as executive in charge of operations at Newcrest Mining and
before that as the executive in charge of the gold business of
Western Mining Corporation. Tony is a recognised global business
and technical expert in the mining industry. He has led the
strategy development and delivery of significant turnarounds in
large, complex and geographically diverse mining businesses;
capitalising on his deep understanding of the resources sector, its
inputs, and conditions for success.
As Executive Vice President - Business & Technical
Development for AngloGold Ashanti Ltd, Tony has had full
accountability for a wide global portfolio ranging from
Exploration, Innovation & Improvement, strategy, Mergers &
Acquisitions, Asset Management, Business Knowledge &
Information Technology, Supply Chain and Safety &
Environment.
About AngloGold Ashanti AngloGold Ashanti
is a global gold mining company and the world's third largest gold
producer. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, AngloGold
Ashanti has 20 operations on four continents and one of the gold
industry's most successful exploration teams which work across both
the established and new gold producing regions of the world. This
includes land positions in Colombia, Guinea and Australia, among
others. AngloGold Ashanti employed 61,242 people, including
contractors, in 2011 and produced 4.33Moz of gold, generating
$6.6bn in gold income. Capital expenditure in 2011 amounted to
$1.5bn. As of 31 December 2011, AngloGold Ashanti's Ore Reserve
totalled 75.6Moz.
The primary listing of the company's ordinary shares is on the
JSE Limited (JSE). Its ordinary shares are also listed on stock
exchanges in London and Ghana, as well as being quoted in New York
in the form of American Depositary Shares (ADSs), in Australia, in
the form of CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs) and in Ghana, in the
form of Ghanaian Depositary Shares (GhDSs).
Certain statements made in this communication, other than
statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, those
concerning the economic outlook for the gold mining industry,
expectations regarding gold prices, production, cash costs and
other operating results, growth prospects and outlook of AngloGold
Ashanti's operations, individually or in the aggregate, including
the achievement of project milestones, the completion and
commencement of commercial operations of certain of AngloGold
Ashanti's exploration and production projects and the completion of
acquisitions and dispositions, any plan regarding the restructuring
of any of AngloGold Ashanti's operations, AngloGold Ashanti's
liquidity and capital resources and capital expenditure and the
outcome and consequence of any potential or pending litigation or
regulatory proceedings or environmental issues, are forward-looking
statements regarding AngloGold Ashanti's operations, economic
performance and financial condition. These forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause AngloGold Ashanti's actual results,
performance or achievements to differ materially from the
anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied in these forward-looking statements. Although AngloGold
Ashanti believes that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be
given that such expectations will prove to have been correct.
Accordingly, results could differ materially from those set out in
the forward-looking statements as a result of, among other factors,
changes in economic, social, political and market conditions,
success of business and operating initiatives, changes in the
regulatory environment and other government actions including
environmental approvals and actions, fluctuations in gold prices
and exchange rates, and business and operational risk management.
For a discussion of certain of these and other factors, refer to
AngloGold Ashanti's annual report for the year ended 31 December
2011, which was distributed to shareholders on 4 April 2012, the
company's 2011 annual report on Form 20-F, which was filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States on 23 April
2012 and the prospectus supplement to the company's prospectus
dated July 17, 2012 that was filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on July 25, 2012. These factors are not necessarily all
of the important factors that could cause AngloGold Ashanti's
actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any
forward-looking statements. Other unknown or unpredictable factors
could also have material adverse effects on future results.
Consequently, stakeholders are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. AngloGold Ashanti
undertakes no obligation to update publicly or release any
revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances after today's date or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events, except to the extent required by applicable
law. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements
attributable to AngloGold Ashanti or any person acting on its
behalf are qualified by the cautionary statements herein.
This communication may contain certain "Non-GAAP" financial
measures. AngloGold Ashanti utilises certain Non-GAAP performance
measures and ratios in managing its business. Non-GAAP financial
measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative
for, the reported operating results or cash flow from operations or
any other measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.
In addition, the presentation of these measures may not be
comparable to similarly titled measures other companies may
use.
AngloGold Ashanti posts information that is important to
investors on the main page of its website at
www.anglogoldashanti.com and under the "Investors" tab on the main
page. This information is updated regularly. Investors should visit
this website to obtain important information about AngloGold
Ashanti.
Contacts Media Alan Fine +27 83 250 0757 Stewart Bailey
+1 646 338 4337/ +27-83-253-2021 Investors Email Contact Stewart
Bailey (US & SA) +1 646 338 4337 Sabrina Brockman (US &
Canada) +1 (212) 858 7702 / +1 646 379 2555 Mike Bedford (UK/
Europe & SA) +44 779 497 7881 / +44 1225 93 8483
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