Rio Tinto announced that Simon Trott will be the new incoming Chief Executive, replacing Jakob Stausholm, effective 25 August 2025. Simon currently serves as Iron Ore Chief Executive, and has a career spanning 25 years, covering a range of roles across commodities and geographies.
Before covering the Iron Ore role, Simon was Rio Tinto’s first Chief Commercial Officer, helping to establish the group’s commercial operations, unlocking efficiency, and deepening strategic customer relationships. He has also held roles at the Managing Director level spanning various commodities and geographies.
Speaking on this appointment, Rio Tinto Chair Dominic Barton said: “Simon is an outstanding leader with a deep understanding of mining and a track record of delivering operational excellence and creating value across our business. Simon and the Board are aligned that Rio Tinto’s next phase is about unlocking significant value for shareholders from our portfolio, driven by operational performance, and cost and financial discipline.
“Simon came into our Iron Ore business at a time of significant challenges and has been instrumental in rebuilding culture, strengthening external relationships and setting us on a pathway for growth. Under his leadership, Iron Ore has become a centre of innovation for the Group, driving operational excellence, technology and operating model optimisation – levers Simon can now bring to Rio Tinto at scale.
“I want to again recognise Jakob’s significant contribution to Rio Tinto at a critical time in its evolution. Under his leadership we have rebuilt relationships with key stakeholders, aligned our portfolio with the commodities where demand growth is strongest, and set a compelling growth trajectory.”
