Jean-Sébastien Jacques

Jean-Sébastien Dominique Francois Jacques (born October 1971) is a former chief executive officer of Rio Tinto Group. He succeeded Sam Walsh in July 2016.[2] He was succeeded by Jakob Stausholm in early 2021.

Jean-Sébastien (JS) Jacques
Born
Jean-Sébastien Dominique Francois Jacques

October 1971 (age 51–52)
France
CitizenshipBritish[1]
EducationLycée Louis-le-Grand
École Centrale Paris
OccupationBusinessman
Known forCEO of Rio Tinto
SpouseMarried

He resigned as CEO in 2020 following a week of international controversy over Rio Tinto's destruction of Juukan Gorge, a priceless Australian Aboriginal sacred site which had evidence of 46,000 years of continual human occupation.[3]

Jacques had been named by the Harvard Business Review as one of the world's best chief executives prior to his departure of Rio Tinto in 2020.[4]

Early life

Jacques was born in France[5] in October 1971.[6][7] He attended the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris[8] before studying engineering at École Centrale Paris.[9]

Career

Prior to Rio Tinto, Jacques was group strategy director for Tata Steel.[10]

Jacques joined Rio Tinto in 2011, and became head of copper and coal businesses.[10][11] Jacques became deputy CEO in March 2016, and CEO in July 2016.[12][13]

During his tenure, Jacques set an ambition for Rio Tinto Group to become net carbon neutral by 2050 underpinned by a commitment to invest around $1 billion between 2020 and 2025.[14] He entered into a series of partnerships with several customers and partners to address climate change and environmental challenges: with Apple and Alcoa to develop new aluminium technologies (2018), with China Baowu Steel Group, the largest steel maker in China and Tsinghua University(2019).,[15] and with Nippon steel, the largest steel maker in Japan (2020).[16] He exited all Rio Tinto Group coal assets between 2016 and 2018, ahead of the industry.[17]

Jacques took accountability for the legal destruction of a sacred Australian Aboriginal site at Juukan Gorge despite the fact that the decision to blast the cave was made before he became CEO.[18] The 46,000-year-old sacred Aboriginal site was destroyed with explosives in May 2020. In front of the commission of enquiry Jacques said that in 2013 the group had three other options to develop its mine without damaging the sacred site. "The difference between the fourth option and the other three options was eight million tonnes of high-grade iron ore" (82 million euros). The fourth option was chosen to blast the cave and a section 18 (authorisation to disturb the site) was granted in 2013 under the previous CEO, Sam Walsh.[19][20][21]

Upon his resignation, Rio Tinto's chairman Simon Thompson stated that “What happened at Juukan was wrong and we are determined to ensure that the destruction of a heritage site of such exceptional archaeological and cultural significance never occurs again at a Rio Tinto operation. . . . I would like to thank J-S for his strong leadership of the Group since becoming Chief Executive in 2016. During that time, he has led the best safety performance in Rio Tinto’s history, simplified the portfolio, divested the Group’s coal assets, established a clear strategy to address climate change and generated exceptional shareholder returns. His leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, has been exemplary".[2]

Jacques was the chairman of the International Copper Association from 2014 to 2016.[22] He is a board member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) since 2016.[23]

He is a member of the Global CEO Council (GCC) of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries,[24] and a member of the Business Council in the USA.[25] He was a board member of the Business Council of Australia from November 2019[26] until his resignation in September 2020.[27]

In 2019 Jacques was named by Harvard Business Review as one of the world's 100 best chief executives.[28]

Personal life

He is married, with children.[7]

References
  1. "BFM Rio Tinto and Foxtel change leaders - BFM". Businessfirstmagazine.com.au. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  2. "Notice to ASX/LSE Rio Tinto Executive Committee changes". 11 September 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  3. "Rio Tinto CEO and senior executives resign from company after Juukan Gorge debacle". The Guardian. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  4. "The CEO 100, 2019 Edition". Harvard Business Review. 1 November 2019.
  5. "Rio Tinto Appoints New Chief Executive". The New York Times. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  6. "Rio Tinto plc". Companies House. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  7. "Executive Profile | Rio Tinto Group | Jean-Sebastien (JS) Jacques | Customer Intelligence". Boardroominsiders.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  8. Saunders, James Thomson, Amanda (18 March 2016). "Rio's new boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques brings another touch of class". The Sydney Morning Herald.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Jean-Sébastien Jacques M.Sc. "Jean-Sébastien Jacques M.Sc.: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  10. "Rio CEO 'Surprise' Signals Pivot From Cost-Cutting to Growth - Bloomberg Business". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  11. "Rio Tinto Appoints Jean-Sebastien Jacques as CEO | Watch the video - Yahoo Finance". Finance.yahoo.com. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  12. "Jean-Sébastien Jacques to succeed Sam Walsh as Rio Tinto chief executive".
  13. "Jean-Sébastien Jacques". Rio Tinto. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  14. "Rio Tinto to invest $1 billion to help meet new climate change targets". 26 February 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  15. "Rio Tinto signs MOU with Chinese partners to explore ways to improve environmental performance across the steel value chain". 25 September 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  16. "Rio Tinto and Nippon Steel Corporation sign climate MOU". 16 December 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  17. "Rio Tinto completes its exit from coal with sale of Queensland mine". ABC News. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  18. Toscano, Nick (28 August 2020). "Rio Tinto CEO's restructure blamed for ancient cave blast". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  19. Turner, Rebecca (11 June 2020). "Juukan Gorge won't be the last priceless record of human history to be legally destroyed by mining". ABC.
  20. Delerba, Isabelle (10 October 2020). "La réputation dynamitée du groupe minier Rio Tinto". Le Monde.
  21. Wahlquist, Calla (26 May 2020). "Rio Tinto blasts 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site". The Guardian.
  22. "Jean-Sébastien Jacques, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Copper, appointed Chairman of the ICA". www.businesswire.com. 24 October 2014.
  23. "ICMM • Member companies". www.icmm.com.
  24. "China's premier tells foreign CEOs China will commit to reform, opening up". Reuters. 20 June 2019 – via www.reuters.com.
  25. "The Business Council active members directory". Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  26. "Statement from new Business Council President Tim Reed". Business Council of Australia. 20 November 2019.
  27. Aston, Joe (16 September 2020). "JS Jacques resigns from BCA board". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  28. "The CEO 100, 2019 Edition". Harvard Business Review. 1 November 2019.
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