Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) said its chief executive officer Natascha Viljoen would be stepping down from her post next year to join US-based Newmont Corporation as the chief operating officer.
Natascha Viljoen to step down as CEO of Amplats
Viljoen, who has been the CEO of the world's biggest platinum group metal miner since April 2020, will continue to serve as the chief executive until the completion of her notice period of up to 12 months, Amplats said in a statement on Wednesday, 15 February.
Said Duncan Wanblad, chief executive of Anglo American: “Natascha is an outstanding leader who transformed our technical processing capabilities and performance having joined us in 2014, subsequently leading our world-class PGMs business for the last three years.
"Her commitment to lead Anglo American Platinum and its continued performance improvement as a platform for growth through her notice period is a clear demonstration of her strong personal qualities. The process to identify her successor is now underway.”
Clara Denina and Helen Reid 7 Feb 2023
Shares slide on exit announcement
Amplats shares fell more than 3% on Wednesday after the company made the announcement.
Said Viljoen: "While I have identified the next phase of my career, my commitment to delivering our clear objectives during this year is as firm as ever, beginning, of course, with keeping our people safe, every day."
A process engineer, Viljoen was group head of processing at Anglo American before her appointment as Amplats CEO. She has also held leadership roles at AngloGold and was the general manager of Klipspruit Colliery, which was previously owned by global mining giant BHP.
