Rio Tinto PLC has recruited a former compliance officer for Unilever PLC and Nestlé SA to serve as its chief legal officer, overseeing compliance issues for a company that has been at the center of high-stakes legal battles and reputational crises in recent years.
Isabelle Deschamps, who currently serves as general counsel for the Dutch paints and performance coatings company Akzo Nobel NV, will join the Anglo-Australian mining company in October, Rio Tinto said Wednesday.
The appointment follows the news that Rio Tinto’s current chief legal officer, Barbara Levi, will depart in October to serve as group general counsel at the Swiss banking giant UBS Group AG .
Ms. Deschamps, a dual Canadian and U.K. citizen, has more than 20 years of experience working in legal roles across Europe and Canada. She joined AkzoNobel in 2018, and oversaw the company’s legal, integrity and compliance functions. She also was a driving force behind its diversity and inclusion program, according to Rio Tinto.
At Rio Tinto, Ms. Deschamps will lead the company’s legal, compliance and external affairs teams, according to Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm.
Isabelle Deschamps, who currently serves as general counsel for the Dutch paints and performance coatings company Akzo Nobel NV, will join Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto PLC in October.
Photo: Rio Tinto PLC
Rio Tinto has been privy to a number of legal and reputational challenges in recent years. Last year, the company found itself in the middle of a public crisis after it destroyed two ancient rock shelters in Northwestern Australia.
The destruction of the Juukan Gorge caves sparked outrage from investors, lawmakers and indigenous groups and led to a broad reshuffle of Rio Tinto’s executive team, including the departure of its then-Chairman Simon Thompson. Ms. Levi, who joined the company in January 2020 as group general counsel, remained in her post and was promoted to chief legal officer this year.
Last month, Rio Tinto said it would make permanent the appointment of interim Chief Financial Officer Peter Cunningham, who was elevated to the position following the Juukan Gorge crisis. Mr. Stausholm, the previous CFO, was named chief executive in December after the former CEO, Jean-Sébastien Jacques, stepped down.
Rio Tinto in 2014 sued its mining rival Vale SA and the Israeli billionaire mining investor Beny Steinmetz, alleging they colluded to rob it of a highly prized iron-ore concession in Guinea. The lawsuit was dismissed the following year after a federal judge in the U.S. found Rio Tinto’s claims had expired under a statute of limitations.
Before joining AkzoNobel, Ms. Deschamps spent six years at Unilever in the U.K. and in the Netherlands, overseeing legal and compliance for its European businesses, as well as its food and refreshment division world-wide. At Nestlé, she held several positions in Switzerland and elsewhere.
Write to Dylan Tokar at [email protected]
Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
