Rio Tinto has appointed a new leader of battery materials while Pilbara Minerals has farewelled its chair, Tony Kiernan.
Elias Scafidas will take over from Marnie Finlayson as Rio’s managing director of battery materials from early 2024, with Finlayson reportedly stepping down to spend more time with family.
Scafidas has overseen significant developments during his 15 years at Rio Tinto, including the major miner’s iron ore push into Africa through the Simandou project in Guinea. He has most recently served as chief financial officer of Rio’s copper and diamonds businesses.
Kiernan departs Pilbara Minerals after seven years at the company, with former Lynas Rare Earths chair Kathleen Conlon now set to head up the board.
Kiernan led the Pilbara Minerals board through the lithium downturn and brought the company out the other side.
Achievements included securing funding, completing construction and achieving production at Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora lithium operation in Western Australia. More recently, Kiernan has been influential in the establishment of downstream partnerships with POSCO and Calix.
“On behalf of the board, I sincerely thank Tony for his leadership and valuable contributions to Pilbara Minerals over the past seven years,” Pilbara Minerals chief executive officer and managing director said.
“The company has navigated many challenges and has emerged as a leading force in this growing future-facing industry. This is in no small part due to Tony’s level-headed stewardship as chair.”
Conlon said she was excited to draw on her experience in the critical minerals industry to support Pilbara Minerals’ continued development.
Recently retiring as chair of Lynas, Conlon is also non-executive director of Aristocrat Leisure and BlueScope Steel.
She will begin as Pilbara Minerals’ non-executive director on January 31.
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