Glencore's Paul Smith takes on the role of CFO of Katanga Mining

Katanga Mining has announced the appointment of Glencore International AG’s (GIAG’s) Paul Smith as its new CFO, and Danny Callow as its new CEO. 

Katanga’s current CFO, Grant Sboros, will continue in his role as Site CFO of Katanga’s subsidiary, Kamoto Copper Company SA, while current CEO Johnny Blizzard has resigned from the company with effect from 16 January.

The two executives have been provided by GIAG, which is a majority shareholder of Katanga, in line with a management services agreement between the two companies. According to the agreement GIAG will make its personnel available to Katanga, and will provide it with administrative, financial and other management services to manage and support its operations. It will also support the governance and reporting to the company’s Board and their shareholders. 

Paul Smith joined Glencore Plc in July 2011 and is the head of strategy, a position he has held since 2013. He joined Glencore from Marshall Wace, where he was an analyst and portfolio manager, overseeing the mining, basic materials and capital goods sectors since 2005. Prior to that, he worked for Credit Suisse First Boston where he was an equity analyst. Paul is a chartered accountant and holds a MA in Modern History from Lincoln College, University of Oxford. 

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hugh Stoyell, said: 

“We are very pleased that Danny and Paul will be joining our executive management team. Their extensive experience and operational and financial backgrounds will be of tremendous benefit as we advance the company’s strategy. In addition, the management services agreement with GIAG will allow the company to continue to move forward with improved governance, compliance and control procedures and to focus on the completion of operational enhancements to its 75% owned copper and cobalt mine in the DRC with enhanced value for all our stakeholders, including its shareholders and joint venture partners.”