Bold Baatar named Chief Commercial Officer at Rio Tinto, prioritising growth initiatives

The global mining and metal giant Rio Tinto has selected Bold Baatar as the new Chief Commercial Officer. He will oversee the company's global commercial and business development endeavours. This appointment follows Alf Barrios' decision to retire.

Bold, currently serving as Chief Executive Copper, will promptly assume responsibility for business development and transition to Chief Commercial Officer on September 1, 2024, relocating to Singapore. The successor for the position of Chief Executive Copper will be announced in the near future.

Alf will remain as Chief Commercial Officer until August's conclusion to facilitate a seamless transition. Subsequently, he will assume the role of Chair for China, Japan, and Korea and serve as an Executive Committee member until his retirement at the end of 2024.

Bold will oversee Rio Tinto's commercial operations, including sales, marketing, procurement, marine, and logistics functions. Additionally, he will spearhead business development efforts for the Group and maintain his responsibilities as Executive Committee lead for Guinea. This entails his continued leadership in managing Rio Tinto's partnerships on the Simandou project.

Jakob Stausholm, the Chief Executive Officer of Rio Tinto, said, "Bold is ideally suited to help deliver our strategy of building a stronger Rio Tinto for the future and growing with discipline, as he leads our commercial and business development activities. He brings deep experience across geographies, commodities, and markets - and combines strong business development expertise with a focus on developing world-class relationships. I look forward to seeing how his leadership will help us to create both value and growth."

"I would like to extend our sincere thanks to Alf for his broad and significant contribution over a decade of service as an Executive Committee member at Rio Tinto. Alf strategically repositioned a number of Rio Tinto's business areas, delivering significant improvements in safety, operational and financial performance during his seven years leading our Aluminium business and over three years in Commercial and as Chair for China, Japan and Korea."

Bold Baatar said, "I am thrilled to be taking on my new role at a time when Rio Tinto has so many opportunities to deliver value for our shareholders, customers, and partners through the innovation and growth needed to reach net zero. By being ambitious together, we can find new and better ways to create shared value."

Alf Barrios said, "It has been an absolute privilege to have worked for over ten years in Rio Tinto with such caring, talented and committed colleagues, and in partnership with external stakeholders to drive safety and performance improvements and unlock value together. I look forward to seeing Rio continue to play an important part in finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs."

Bold began his journey with Rio Tinto in 2013 and swiftly ascended to the Executive Committee by December 2016. Throughout his tenure, he has demonstrated his versatility by assuming various leadership roles within both product groups and commercial teams. His trajectory culminated in his appointment as Chief Executive Copper in February 2021, following a successful stint leading the Energy & Minerals product group.

In 2021, Alf assumed the Chief Commercial Officer and Chair roles for China, Japan, and Korea. He joined Rio Tinto in 2014, initially serving as Chief Executive Aluminium. Alf boasts a rich background spanning over thirty years in the resources industry, encompassing various facets such as operations, marketing, trading, and business development on a global scale.