Business

Chris Griffith resigns as Amplats CEO

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) CEO Chris Griffith is stepping down.

Griffith served as the executive director of Amplats for more than seven years and overall for Anglo American for over 30 years. He’s stepped down to pursue other career opportunities, according to an Amplats Sens on released on Monday morning.

The group says he will continue to serve the company until April 16, 2020.

Norman Mbazima, Amplats Chairman, expressed his gratitude towards Griffith. “His exceptional contribution to improving safety and the operational and financial turnaround of the business has produced excellent results.

“The focus on innovation and developing diverse markets for our range of metals, see Anglo American Platinum well positioned to continue growing from its current position of strength,” says Mbazima.

Griffith said he enjoyed the significant challenge of leading one of the world’s great
precious metals businesses over the last seven years.

“This has been the pinnacle of my long and fulfilling career with Anglo American – ending it back at Anglo American Platinum”.

Griffith said it has made tremendous progress on many fronts, “from safety improvements to successfully completing the significant restructuring and repositioning of the portfolio of assets, which continue to deliver industry-leading returns”.

“After more than seven years at the helm, and given all that we as a team have achieved, this is now the natural time for the next generation of leadership to take this business forward and deliver further value,” Griffith says.

The group said his successor, who is expected to be an internal candidate from within the Anglo American group, will be announced in the near future.

The share price dropped after the notice to R1 245.56 from R1 261.51 (09:05) and recovered to R1 268.56 (10:20).