Johannesburg - Chief executive officer of mining giant AngloGold Ashanti, Mark Cutifani, has resigned and will take over the same position at Anglo American, the two companies said on Tuesday.
Cutifani will leave AngloGold Ashanti at the end of March and will begin his duties at Anglo American in the first week of April.
AngloGold, which is chaired by former governor of the national reserve bank, Tito Mboweni, would in the interim search for a new CEO.
The board announced that chief financial officer Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan and executive vice president of business and technical development Tony O’Neill, would take over the reins as joint acting CEO's until a suitable replacement was appointed.
Meanwhile, Anglo American has welcomed Cutifani on board.
Chairman of the company, John Parker said in a statement the company was looking forward to him joining their team.
“(He) is a seasoned miner, with broad experience of mining operations and projects across a wide range of commodities and geographies,” said Parker.
Cutifani, who will be succeeding Cynthia Carroll, said he was looking forward to taking over his new position.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead Anglo American at this important stage in its journey, to unlock the company's very considerable value potential,” he said.
Anglo American, which has its headquarters in London, has operations in two dozen countries on six continents. It specialises in mining and processing iron ore, copper and other metals, as well as diamonds.
AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company which was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation. - Sapa