Ferrexpo CEO Jim North has unexpectedly decided to leave the company after leading it for three years, beginning in 2020.
According to a stock exchange report Tuesday, Jim North announced he is stepping down as CEO and executive director of the company after nine years with the group to pursue other opportunities.
It clarifies that North will step down as CEO after an orderly management transition process beginning June 30, 2023. Ferrexpo announced North’s appointment as acting CEO on May 18, 2020.
North will leave the company’s board of directors following the conclusion of its annual general meeting on May 25, 2023, and will also step down as a director of various group subsidiaries.
“As a result, Resolution No. 10 of the upcoming annual general meeting (which represents a resolution to re-elect Mr. North as a director of the company) will be withdrawn and will not be voted on by shareholders at the annual general meeting,” the press release states.
It is also reported that Lucio Genovese, chairman of the board, will serve as interim executive chairman and will assume leadership of the group beginning July 1, 2023.
In addition, the Board of Directors announced the appointment of Ferrexpo Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Nikolai Kladiev as executive director of the company, effective at the conclusion of the upcoming annual general meeting of shareholders. Kladiev joined Ferrexpo in 2005 and has been a member of the group’s executive committee since 2007. He was appointed CFO of the group in July 2021.
Lucio Genovese thanked North for his significant contributions to Ferrexpo over the past nine years and for his role in guiding and shaping the group’s strategy since he became chief executive in 2020. “Jim was appointed as CEO at a time when we were focused on accelerating growth, leading Ferrexpo’s decarbonization plans and further cultural development within the business. However, given the situation in Ukraine with the ongoing war and uncertain outlook, we have had to slow down our growth programs, and the CEO’s focus inevitably shifts to ensuring business continuity and operational sustainability,” Genovese said.
Earlier, Fiona MacAulay, a non-executive director of Ferrexpo plc, a British mining company with assets in Ukraine, announced her intention to leave the group after the 2023 annual general meeting in connection with her appointment as a non-executive director of Dowlais Group Plc, which has become a public company. Fiona MacAulay is currently a senior independent director and a non-executive director of the company.
Even earlier, Ferrexpo’s independent non-executive director, Ann-Christin Andersen, declined to run for the company’s next board in May 2023. “Independent non-executive director Ann-Christin Andersen has notified the board that she will not run for re-election at the company’s next annual general meeting in May 2023,” Ferrexpo’s annual report reported.
Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine.
Ferrexpo owns 100% of Yeristovsky GOK LLC, 100% of Poltava GOK PJSC and 99.9% of Belanovsky GOK LLC.
