Glencore’s billionaire copper chief retires under legal pressure – by Jack Farchy and Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – December 3, 2018)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

LONDON – Glencore on Monday announced the retirement of-billionaire Aristotelis Mistakidis, its embattled head of copper trading and one of the company’s biggest shareholders.

Mistakidis’s departure marks the end of an era. The 56-year-old executive is one of the world’s most powerful commodities traders and built Glencore’s reputation as a dominant force in copper. But he’s come under intense pressure recently following a string of investigations, problems and legal headaches.

The US Department of Justice is probing Glencore’s dealings in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world. Canadian regulators are also investigating accounting irregularities at copper mines where Mistakidis was a director.

The company made the announcement on Monday in a statement that included a broader leadership shake-up, including changes at its coal, ferroalloys trading and mining divisions. Nico Paraskevas will take on the role of head of copper trading. The executive has spent 12 years with Glencore and helped lead the sale of Las Bambas copper mine in Peru.

Other leadership changes announced today include Peter Freyberg’s appointment as head of industrial mining assets. It is a new position with responsibility for all of Glencore’s industrial mining. Gary Nagle was named head of Glencore’s coal assets, while Japie Fullard was named head of ferroalloys assets.

For the rest of this article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-03/glencore-shakes-up-management-copper-chief-mistakidis-to-retire