Leadership change is in the offing for Tata Steel, India’s most profitable private company, with its deputy chairman Jim Leng becoming the chairman of multinational mining and resources group Rio Tinto and managing director B Muthuraman retiring in September this year.
The chief operating officer H M Nerurkar is believed to be the front-runner for the post of managing director, said sources close to the Tata group. Another name doing the rounds for the post of managing director was Philippe Varin, the outgoing chief executive of Corus and of Tata Steel Europe. Varin had recently decided to step down from his position on April 6, 2009, leaving the opportunity to Kirby Adams. Kirby joined Corus after retiring from Melbourne-based BlueScope Steel as its managing director and chief executive officer.
However, sources said, one of the reasons for Varin’s exit might be possible differences with the Indian management over job losses in Corus operation. Recently, Corus had cut 400 jobs in its distribution business, in the wake of the global economic downturn.
A Tata Steel spokesperson said the company did not respond to media speculations on internal matters relating to the company.
In its official announcement on Varin’s resignation, Tata Steel had said, “When Tata Steel acquired Corus, Varin had agreed to continue as chief executive for at least two years. Now that he has met his commitment, he has decided to seek a new challenge. In order to ensure a smooth transition of executive leadership in Corus, Varin will continue to serve on the boards of Tata Steel Europe and Tata Steel as a non-executive Director.”
Post acquisition of Corus in 2007, Varin had worked closely with Muthuraman to successfully integrate the Anglo-Dutch steel maker with Tata Steel.
Leng is stepping into the shoes of Paul Skinner at a time when Rio Tinto is eliminating 14,000 jobs, cuts capital spending and plans to sell assets as the global downturn hits demand for commodities. Leng is expected to take over the responsibility at the world’s third largest mining company in April.
Leng is holding the position of non-executive deputy chairman since Corus was acquired by Tata Steel. He is also the chairman of the Doncaster Group, a non-executive director of Alstom and Hanson. He was the chief executive of Laporte from 1995 until June 2001. He retired as the chairman of IMI in May 2005 and as a non-executive director of Pilkington in June 2006.
“We can only state that Varin has decided to step down from the post of CEO of Corus and Kirby Adams will be taking up the position of CEO of Corus from April 2009. Jim Leng has decided to accept the position of chairman of Rio Tinto. His status on the boards of Tata Steel and Tata Steel Europe remains unchanged. We would not be able to respond to any other query,” said the spokesperson.
After 38 years of service with Tata Steel, Nerurkar has risen to an influential position with his hard work. He is currently the chairman of Tata Martrade International Logistics, Tata Metaliks, Hooghly Met Coke & Power Company, JAMIPOL, vice chairman of Tata Steel (Thailand) Public Company in Bangkok, according to the Tata Steel website.
