Passed the post

Oleg Deripaska resigned as head of the board of directors of RUSAL

The leadership of RUSAL has changed: during the formation of the united company, which will include RUSAL, SUAL and the alumina assets of the Swiss Glencore, Oleg Deripaska will be replaced as chairman of the board of directors by the former head of the Australian WMC, Andrew Michelmore, who was hired by him six months ago. However, Mr. Deripaska will retain his membership on the board of directors of RUSAL. Experts believe that Mr. Deripaska simply does not want to spend a lot of time on the technical procedures for merging the three companies - this is exactly what the board of directors of RUSAL will mainly be doing in the next six months. At the same time, Mr. Michelmore himself assures (see interview with him) that when he came to work as head of En+ (a division of Basic Element that manages metallurgical and energy projects) in February of this year, he already knew that he would be the head of the board directors of RUSAL.

In May of this year, at an extraordinary meeting of RUSAL shareholders, Mr. Michelmore joined the board of directors of the aluminum company and took the post of deputy chairman. Then the top managers of Basic Element - general director Gulzhan Moldazhanova and director of one of the departments Stalbek Mishakov - left the board of directors. A source close to RUSAL explained this to Vremya Novostey by the fact that, as part of openness, the company intends to introduce foreign directors to the board. Moreover, he added, Mr. Deripaska in any case remained the head of the board and could control the company's strategy.

Now Mr. Deripaska will do this as an ordinary member of the council and as an owner. Yesterday's official statement from Basic Element said that after the completion of the merger with SUAL and part of Glencore, Brian Gilbertson, the current president of the SUAL group, will become the chairman of the board of directors of the combined Russian Aluminum company. “He is a world-class executive with a track record of success in the metals and mining industries,” said Mr. Michelmore. Apparently, analysts suggest, the head of En+ has every chance of becoming Mr. Gilbertson’s deputy on the board of directors of Russian Aluminum.

Oleg Deripaska commented on yesterday's changes in the board of directors of RUSAL: “I am glad that Andrew will replace me as chairman of the board of directors of RUSAL,” the press service of Basic Element quotes him. “With his extensive experience in the metals and mining industries, Andrew is uniquely positioned to facilitate the successful completion of the combined company.” Mr. Michelmore, meanwhile, told Vremya Novostei that he has a positive assessment of the upcoming merger: “This is a very timely and correct decision. Of course, such a merger will make the company and all participants in the transaction stronger. The result is a better company with better results. We will get the best business organization, a more powerful company with better pricing positions.” At the same time, in his opinion, the merger of Russian aluminum companies is being carried out within the framework of the global industry trend towards consolidation. “Even our combined company will account for only 10% of the global aluminum products market, while, for example, in nickel production the largest players control 20-25% of the market. I think that after the merger of RUSAL, SUAL and Glencore's alumina assets, other mergers in the industry may well take place. I believe that our deal is just the beginning of industry consolidation.”

At the same time, Mr. Michelmore will retain his position as head of En+. The fact is that Oleg Deripaska's energy projects - electric power and oil - are not included in the merger deal with SUAL and Glencore.

Anna LANDER