Rio Tinto hires CFO from Danish shipper Maersk

SYDNEY: Major miner Rio Tinto named Jacob Stausholm (pictured), formerly CFO of Danish shipping company AP Moller-Maersk, to replace outgoing financial boss Chris Lynch when he retires in September, the Anglo-Australian mining company said on Tuesday. Lynch’s retirement was announced last September, triggering a search for a replacement to maintain the financial strength of a company with the strongest balance sheet of the major miners. Stausholm stepped down as CFO at Moller-Maersk in March after the company decided to separate the finance role from its IT and digital transformation function. His former boss said he had been one of the drivers of the Danish company’s strategic transformation from a broader conglomerate including an oil business to a more focused shipping company. From 2008 to 2011 Stausholm, 49, was CFO of facility services provider ISS A/S. Before that, he worked in the oil industry with jobs at Statoil, Woodside Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell. Rio CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques said in a statement that Lynch left Rio Tinto a stronger company than when he began in 2013. — Reuters