A new-look Albemarle

Albemarle has made a raft of executive changes to “increase agility” and “maintain long-term competitiveness”.

Specialties business president Netha Johnson will become chief operations officer (COO). As COO, Johnson will lead the company’s global manufacturing, research and technology, capital projects and process chemistry execution.

Energy storage business president Eric Norris will also transition into a chief commercial officer role, where he will oversee enterprise product management, sales and commercial excellence.

Executive vice president and chief people officer Melissa Anderson will become chief transformation officer, a role that reflects Anderson’s current oversight of people, strategy and transformation.

Senior vice president of capital projects and integrated supply chain Mark Mummert will move into the chief capital, resources and integrated supply chain officer role, while Stacy Grant moves from vice president and deputy general counsel, global corporate affairs to general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer.

It comes as Albemarle transitions from having two global business units to forming a single fully integrated model.

“The long-term growth potential of our industry is significant, and this structure enables Albemarle to take greater advantage of our world-class resources, global conversion network and process chemistry expertise while driving to a lower-cost structure,” Albemarle chairman and chief executive officer Kent Masters said.

“As our industry evolves, our new operating structure is designed to flex with the complexities of our markets, improve customer centricity and cost-effectively strengthen our core capabilities to maintain our leadership position.”

Meanwhile, silica sand aspirant Diatreme Resources has appointed major shareholder Brian Flannery as a non-executive director, bringing more than 40 years’ mining experience to the role.

This has coincided with non-executive director Kara Keys moving into the deputy chair role at Diatreme, which demonstrates the company’s commitment to stakeholder engagement.

“Kara has proven a highly effective advocate for key stakeholders including First Nations communities, with her experience in advocacy and financial background extremely valuable assets for Diatreme’s board,” Keys said.

Western Yilgarn has also been active, appointing Argent Minerals chief executive officer Pedro Kastellorizos as a non-executive director.

Kastellorizos has more than 26 years’ experience in the exploration, underground mining and corporate sectors.