Mining Billionaire Leaves a Dirty Task to His Successor

It’s hard to imagine a more daunting task than taking the reins from Ivan Glasenberg, Glencore Plc’s chief executive officer, a man who put his stamp on his company like few other corporate leaders have. Thankfully, his 45-year-old successor, fellow South African Gary Nagle, has a way to make his own mark: by finding a way for the mining giant to exit coal, the business he currently oversees.

Having spent two decades transforming Glencore from a secretive trading outfit into its present globe-spanning incarnation — most notably via the 2013 takeover of Xstrata — the swashbuckling, outspoken, Glasenberg chose a low key way to reveal his imminent retirement at an investor event on Friday.