Albanese rings in the changes at Rio

Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese has been given board freedom to make sweeping changes to what he called ''his'' senior operations management team - indicating that his tenure is not as precarious as many in the market thought. There has been speculation that Mr Albanese's tenure was limited because of investor frustration with the ill-timed 2007 acquisition of aluminium group Alcan, Mr Albanese's lead role in refusing last year to engage with BHP Billiton on a merger and more recently, his ''chop and change'' approach to Rio's refinancing needs. But yesterday Mr Albanese was able to talk about changes he had made to the management team and Rio's organisational structure, all with a view to developing the ''next generation of Rio Tinto leaders''. Mr Albanese's ability to direct management changes follows the improvement in his rating that came with the Mongolian Government's recent clearance for the $US4 billion ($A4.4 billion) Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project to proceed after years of delays. Mr Albanese took Rio into the project. Rising aluminium prices have also eased the pain of the Alcan acquisition, although analysts believe prices will have to hit $US1 a pound before Mr Albanese will truly be able to breathe easy about his tenure. In announcing the management changes, Mr Albanese reaffirmed the importance of Rio's Australian operations to the London-based group. ''We are in a long-term business, and management development is an important priority,'' he said. ''Two of our five product group heads will now be based in Australia (energy and iron ore), reflecting the importance of our base there, with two in London (copper and diamond/minerals) and one in Montreal (aluminium).'' The changes involve expanding the executive committee with three new appointments. They are Doug Ritchie, who becomes chief executive of Rio Tinto Energy (Brisbane), Andrew Harding, who becomes chief executive of Rio Tinto Copper (London), and Harry Kenyon-Slaney, who becomes chief executive of Rio Tinto Diamonds and Minerals (London). Bret Clayton moves to the new role of group executive, business support and operations, from the copper and diamonds product group (London). Preston Chiaro becomes group executive, technology and innovation, based in Salt Lake City, having been chief executive of the energy and minerals product group. He replaces Grant Thorne, who will become a special adviser to Rio Tinto before retiring.