There are new changes at the world’s leading steel and mining company. The multinational ArcelorMittal has just announced that Stefan Buys has been appointed Executive Vice President of ArcelorMittal and CEO of ArcelorMittal Mining. Stefan, who has held the position since early October, replaces Simon Wandke, who is retiring after a 40-year career in the mining industry, the last 11 of which have been with ArcelorMittal.
Aditya Mittal, CEO of ArcelorMittal said, “Stefan is an extremely capable and successful leader who knows the mining industry very well and is passionately committed to the priorities of the business. With his extensive global experience, he is well positioned to join ArcelorMittal and lead our global mining business”.
Buys has also expressed his delight at the appointment. “Joining ArcelorMittal as CEO of its mining business is a great honour for me and I look forward to the challenge. Like many industries, mining will be transformed as a result of digitization and the drive to decarbonize. I look forward to working with the team to execute ArcelorMittal Mining’s growth plans while responding to the trends that will shape the industry for the long term. There’s a lot to do and I can’t wait to get started.
“According to the same multinational, Stefan is a seasoned mining and heavy industry executive with extensive experience in various countries and commodities. In his previous role at Rio Tinto Iron Ore, where he was managing director of Pilbara Mining, he oversaw iron ore mining operations in Western Australia.
Prior to joining Rio Tinto, Stefan worked for BHP as asset president of the Olympic Dam operation in South Australia and then led a global project to standardise operations design as project manager in organisation design. Buys was also responsible for Xstrata’s operations in Chile, as director of operations for Northern Chile.
Stefan started his career as a trainee metallurgical engineer at the Iscor (now ArcelorMittal) factory in Vanderbijlpark. He holds a degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
