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] Jacques was named by the Harvard Business Review as one of the world's best chief executives.[3]

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

October 1971 (age 49)
France
CitizenshipBritish[1]
EducationLycée Louis-le-Grand
École Centrale Paris
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse(s)Married

He stepped down in 2020 “by mutual agreement” with the board following a week of international controversy over Rio Tinto's legal destruction of Juukan Gorge, an Australian Aboriginal sacred site which had evidence of 46,000 years of continual human occupation.[4] He was succeeded by Jakob Stausholm in early 2021.

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]

As CEO, Jacques was considered responsible of the destruction of a sacred indigenous site at Juukan Gorge.[18] The site, a 46,000-year-old sacred Aboriginal site, was legally destroyed with explosives. In front of the commission of enquiry Jacques said that, in 2013 and under the previous CEO tenure, Sam Walsh, 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).[19][20]

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".[21]

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] a board member of the Business Council of Australia,[25] and a member of the Business Council in the USA.[26]

In 2019 Jacques was named by Harvard Business Review as one of the world's 100 best chief executives.[27]

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. "The CEO 100, 2019 Edition". 1 November 2019.
  4. "Rio Tinto CEO and senior executives resign from company after Juukan Gorge debacle". The Guardian. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  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. 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.
  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". 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. "Notice to ASX/LSE Rio Tinto Executive Committee changes". 11 September 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  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. November 2019, 20. "Statement from new Business Council President Tim Reed". Business Council of Australia.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. "The Business Council active members directory". Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  27. "The CEO 100, 2019 Edition". 1 November 2019.
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