On the competitiveness inside his company:
"I've been through two generations of heads [of trading divisions]. Every one of those heads was kicked out from below ... If I'm not pulling my weight and setting an example, and keeping the charge going, they'll come at me, for sure. And the board will see it, and they will get me out. The day I start slacking, take my word, they'll attack me. And thank God for that, this is what this company lives on and thrives on. Some of these guys will lose their jobs, because they think they're too rich, 'I want to take life easier', I want to spend more time with the family, I want to do this... An attack will come. It's not rugged, it's a true culture."
The Mine-Top View
By JOHN W. MILLER
In a wide-ranging interview, Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of the newly merged Glencore Xstrata PLC, discusses competitiveness, women board members and the company's future. Here are excerpts.On the first woman joining the Glencore Xstrata board:
"It's clear in the U.K. you should have a woman on the board. We've never had any. ... What this board does need is someone who understands the soft commodities. We've got oil, we've got mining, we've got M&A. ... Eventually we need someone for compliance and all that. If we can find a woman who fits that role, with pleasure."
On celebrating the merger:
"Talk to me in five years time. I may open a glass of champagne (then)."
"You're doing a major merger, you got to hope you didn't get it wrong. That's the view of any CEO. Did I pay the right price? Am I going to be able to gel these things? Will commodity prices stay strong [enough to] justify putting this much money into an asset-rich company? Have we done the right thing? This is my biggest fear."
On Glencore Xstrata's future:
"We run this company opportunistically. I don't sit there and say, 'We want 70% trading or 50% trading, 30% trading, or so much in copper, or so much in zinc.' What happens in this company is the good managers of the different departments, they bring opportunities up. ... We work with 7,000 suppliers and customers in the world... We know everyone in the business. When the opportunities come, we may not want to buy another nickel asset, but if something comes cheap enough, we're all about return on equity."
On his ties to Glencore:
"They [investors and analysts] shouldn't associate Glencore with me. My heads of department have been with me for 20 years. Any one of these guys could take over. These are powerful individuals, good individuals, and they could run it. I've said I will be CEO as long as my colleagues want me. It could be 20 years."
On the competitiveness inside his company:
"I've been through two generations of heads [of trading divisions]. Every one of those heads was kicked out from below ... If I'm not pulling my weight and setting an example, and keeping the charge going, they'll come at me, for sure. And the board will see it, and they will get me out. The day I start slacking, take my word, they'll attack me. And thank God for that, this is what this company lives on and thrives on. Some of these guys will lose their jobs, because they think they're too rich, 'I want to take life easier', I want to spend more time with the family, I want to do this... An attack will come. It's not rugged, it's a true culture."
On Glencore's competitive advantage:
"We know the countries because we were trading. When we first invested in Colombia, we were buying a lot of coal from Colombia. We were dealing with them daily. I knew their guys at the port, I knew their guys at the mine, I had a feel of the country.
On U.S. shale gas:
"The effect of cheap shale gas has given America once again the opportunity to become a big industrial nation again. It has cheap power, and cheap power allows it to produce goods cheaply."
Write to John W. Miller at john.miller@wsj.com
No comments:
Post a Comment