How Rio Bungled Its Chairman Search After 18 Months of Planning

  • ‘It’s been a more tumultuous process,’ says Investec analyst
  • Simon Thompson is one candidate being considered, person says
Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg
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Rio Tinto Group spent 18 months looking for a new chairman and has come up empty handed.

After an investor backlash against mining veteran Mick Davis, Rio is now scrambling to find a chairman to replace outgoing Jan du Plessis before an end-of-year deadline. Among potential candidates is Simon Thompson, a non-executive director at Rio and chairman of U.K. buyout firm 3i Group Plc, according to a person familiar with the deliberations.