THE MINING YEARBOOK 2021
NEW FACE, OLD HAND: WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR IN GARY NAGLEâS FIRST YEAR AS GLENCORE CEO BY DAVID MCKAY
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sked at a press conference what his successor might look like, Ivan Glasenberg replied: âI hope he looks like me.â It was a quip that anticipated in Gary Nagle, Glencoreâs CEO from July, a company preferring continuity over novelty. Nagle might not be Glasenbergâs lookalike, but he is certainly a âthink-alikeâ. Analysts donât expect Nagle to spring any surprises when he gets into his stride, which should be immediately. Heâs been at the company since graduation (in accounting). His alma mater is the University of the Witwatersrand, the same as Glasenbergâs. Like Glasenberg, Nagle learned the ropes in the groupâs coal division. Listening to Nagle at Glencoreâs results presentation in February, he was on message with all of Glencoreâs recent ideas and opinions, although importantly for Glencoreâs corporate governance, Nagle will wield less influence over strategy. As a 9.2% shareholder, Glasenberg was uniquely positioned to have a bigger say on strategy than youâd expect of a regular CEO. As for the company itself, itâs like the worldâs mining industry has a suggestion box with âGlencoreâ written on the outside. The Swiss group embodies in one place all of the boons and booby-traps of mining today: it produces coal (environment), it is facing corruption charges (governance), and it has cupboards-full of resources in minerals the world needs for a sustainable, decarbonised economy. âWith its largest copper and nickel businesses and its cobalt production, Glencore is the ultimate large-cap global miner for leverage to battery materials and decarbonisation trends,â said Christoper LaFemina, an analyst for Jefferies. He termed the groupâs foothold in the copper/cobalt industry in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) its âace in the holeâ. The market seems to be recognising the fact of Glencoreâs potential to generate cash, finally. For several
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Gary Nagle CEO, Glencore
