Julie Shuttleworth, the global growth director of Fortescue (ASX: FMG), has become the latest in a series of senior executives to leave the company, marking the sixth such departure in less than a year. Shuttleworth had been with the Australian firm, which has transitioned from iron ore to hydrogen, for over a decade.
Shuttleworth was a key figure in the team of Andrew Forrest, the company’s founder and CEO. She initially held the position of CEO for the green energy division when it was first launched as Fortescue Future Industries.
More recently, Shuttleworth served as the deputy CEO of Fortescue, a role that was established to ensure the presence of strong mining expertise at the company’s highest levels. This was during the time when Elizabeth Gaines assumed the position of the company’s chief executive.
Shuttleworth, who was also responsible for mining operations in Africa, reportedly left Fortescue to devote more time to her family.
In a statement to the Australian Financial Review, she expressed her fondness for her time at Fortescue, saying, “I have truly enjoyed my 11 years with Fortescue and the experiences I’ve had during this period. From interacting with the excavator and dump truck operators at Cloudbreak, to globetrotting with the chairman [Forrest] for meetings with presidents and prime ministers, to working in the Gabon jungle and everything in between.”
The resignation of Shuttleworth came on the heels of Michael Gunner’s departure, a senior executive in the energy division, in February. Gunner’s exit occurred just days after Deborah Caudle, the CFO of the same division, resigned.
The trend of executive departures became evident in August of the previous year when Fiona Hick, the CEO of Fortescue at the time, resigned after less than six months in the role. Her departure was followed by several others, including Christine Morris, the former CFO of the metals division, who held the position for less than three months.
The string of departures from Forrest’s team has led to some investors expressing concerns about Forrest’s leadership style and the ambitiousness of his plans to transition from an iron ore miner to a provider of clean fuel.
