Duncan Wanblad
CEO: Anglo American Corporation
‘To the extent that we are valued in the context of the sum of our parts and fully valued, we will be a very viable, standalone company’
DUNCAN Wanblad occupies the hottest ‘throne’ in the global mining industry right now, where the temperature was turned up to bottom-singeing levels when BHP made its play to take over the group early last year. Wanblad fought off the BHP bid but it played havoc with his own plans to restructure Anglo American at a more measured pace and he was forced into swift action to try and reassure shareholders. Wanblad’s plan involves many of the measures he rejected in turning down the BHP bid – specifically unbundling Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and removing exposure to De Beers to focus on the group’s core copper and iron ore businesses.
Cynics may think he is paring down Anglo and making it more ‘bite-sized’ for potential predators including BHP, which has not gone away. Wanblad rejects such suggestions, saying the market will rerate the restructured Anglo. But if that rerating does not take place, Wanblad will be a sitting duck. So far, the restructure is going pretty well. He got an excellent price for Anglo’s Australian metallurgical assets while the demerger of Amplats is expected as early as April.
More problematic is selling or spinning off the group’s 85% in De Beers. How and when this will take place is hard to call given the poor state of the diamond market. A long-term diamond sales contract with Botswana will be a critical milestone in these endeavours. If that’s achieved, and the diamond market revives, it’s fair to say Wanblad’s Anglo will be tracking well on its plans.
LIFE OF DUNCAN
He’s an Anglo ‘lifer’ who joined the group through associate JCI in 1990 after graduating as a mechanical engineer. He then made his way up through the management ranks, particularly in the platinum division, which, in those days, was controlled through JCI. He joined the Anglo Platinum board in 2004, becoming joint interim CEO in 2007. Moving to the greater Anglo, he was appointed group director: Other Mining and Industrial in 2009, followed by a stint as CEO of Base Metals from 2013. He then became group director for Strategy and Business Development and was finally appointed CEO in 2022.
